Someone To Love
by shy-n-great
Summary: COMPLETE Hermione has sunk into a depression and has more or less cut herself off from the world. So far, Harry hasn't been able to pull her out of the rut.....will someone else be able to?
1. In The Darkness There Is Light

**Disclaimer:** I am not the creator of Harry Potter but I am the creator of this plot.

**A/N:** Not sure about the title on this story......or the chapter for that matter............any ideas then please get in touch. Also...feel free to review.

* * *

**In Darkness There Is Light  
**  
Hermione sighed as she looked at her alarm clock. She had been awake for hours but didn't want to get out of bed. This had been a regular occurrence since Ron had died. She would set her alarm clock for seven in the morning, with every intention to get up and start to make a life for herself, but she would just end up lying there till the late afternoon.  
  
Harry had tried for months, and was still trying now, to get her out and about. He had lost one friend, he wasn't about to lose another. But Hermione always felt as though she was imposing on Harry's new life. He was married now and had a decent career in Quidditch.  
  
Hermione finally managed to drag herself out of bed and into the shower. She was having a good day today. On her bad days, she didn't even get dressed or even worse....get out of bed. She got dressed and went to make herself some food. She hadn't eaten in a couple of days and she was famished. She flicked her wand and food started flying round the room and into pans. She may have sunk into depression but she never gave up on her magic, it was this wonderful world that had introduced her to Ron.  
  
Hermione was in the middle of watching her scrambled eggs fluff up when she heard a hooting. Not wanting to burn her eggs, she ignored it till her food was ready. When she was eventually ready she took her plate of food and walked out of the kitchen to the living room. She found Hedwig stood on the couch.  
  
"Hedwig, Harry bought you a perch for you to sit on when you're here. Please get on it." Hermione scolded the owl. Hedwig hooted and flew onto the perch by the window opposite the kitchen door. Hermione placed her plate on the coffee table in the middle of the room and walked over to her. Hedwig obediently stuck her leg out for her to take the letter off her.  
  
Hermione  
  
I'll be round at six so make sure you're dressed. I won't take no  
for an answer. Hedwig will stay there till I arrive so you can't  
hide and I know you won't go out.  
  
Lots of love  
  
Harry  
  
Hermione smiled. He had finally worked out all her tricks for when she didn't want visitors. Must be important if he's got Hedwig to stay here. She looked over at her food, she wasn't hungry now.  
  
"Hedwig, do you want some scrambled eggs and bacon?" Hedwig hooted in delight. Hermione took the plate and placed it on the platform attached to the perch and the owl started nibbling at the food. She gave Hedwig a stroke and then went to make herself look a little more presentable for Harry.  
  
At six o'clock precisely, Harry and his wife Jenny apparated into Hermione's living room. Hermione smiled up at them from the couch. Jenny raced over to sit next to Hermione. She leaned against and smiled up at her. Hermione loved Jenny; Harry couldn't have married a better woman. She was petite woman with a slim build. Her hair was blonde and shoulder- length. She had piercing blue eyes that looked as though they could read all your secrets. She was witty, caring and on a par with Hermione when it came to intelligence.  
  
Harry had met Jenny when he was in his last year of school and she had been in her fifth. He had saved her when Death Eaters had attacked the school and one thing had led to another. They'd been together for nearly ten years when they married last year, just before Ron had died. Hermione and Ron had been planning their own wedding when he had died.  
  
"How are you today?" Jenny asked taking her hand in hers and keeping hold of it.  
  
"I'm alright. Could be better but then I always could be better." She replied glumly. Harry knelt down in front of her and took her other hand.  
  
"Come stay with us, Hermione. It might do you the world of good to have some company for a while." Harry pleaded.  
  
"I don't want to impose. I've told you this before. You have your own life now. You don't need me dragging you down." She held tightly on to their hands.  
  
"I miss him too but I managed to get through it because I had Jenny. Maybe if you didn't lock yourself away from the world, it might help."  
  
"But then I'll forget about him."  
  
"No, you won't." Jenny told her softly. "You have memories and pictures. You also have his family who miss you very much, not to mention your parents." Hermione nodded. She knew they were right but she didn't know if she was strong enough to face up to it all.  
  
"Anyway, Jenny is going to need some female company for a while, coz lord knows I won't be able to help her with her mood swings." Harry told her smiling.  
  
"What do you mean?" Hermione was confused.  
  
"We're having a baby." Jenny squealed, sitting up. Hermione's eyes darted between the grinning pair.  
  
"REALLY?" Hermione shouted, jumping up.  
  
"Really." They said in unison as they got up with her. She jumped on them both and gave them a big hug. When she pulled away, she looked at Jenny and could see that she was positively glowing, now that she was looking.  
  
"Come on, I'll sort myself out and we will go out and celebrate." Jenny and Harry were shocked to hear her say that.  
  
"You'd really do that for us?" Jenny asked carefully.  
  
"I may be in a rut right now but something like this should be celebrated." Harry smiled. He felt like he was getting his old friend back.


	2. Meeting An Old Acquaintance

**Disclaimer - **Harry Potter JK Rowling! Jenny Mine:-)

**A/N:** Straight to the long overdue thank yous. **Nutto - **Thank for being the first reviewer of this story:-) **Prongsette - **It may or may not be, I'm giving nothing away;-) **Super - **You're so sweet, you review everytime I update. **resaispoe - **Look, I finally got out of that block on writing this. **PyRoWiRe - **I've finally updated. **MiSSxMELON - **It's not a one-shot, it's just taken me a while to get some inspiration for it. **Isis3110 - **Ah yes, Boogie Pimps, I remember that video, very interesting. **SongOfStars - **Look, I finally continued with it:-) **D.S -** Look an update;-) **Chantal J - **I've not updated as soon as I would have liked but it's here. **Lady Norskstar - **I'm surprised you found this story,it's been eight months since I started this story.

So here you go peeps, a overdue update. I can't believe it was eight months ago that I started this story, I could have had a baby in that time. Well, here you go enjoy and I promise I will be updating more frequently with this one.

* * *

**Meeting An Old Acquaintance **

Hermione sat in a dark corner grumbling to herself while Harry and Jenny chatted to everyone in the Leaky Cauldron. As it turned out, that was the place Harry's quidditch team had decided to celebrate their latest win. She was ready to throttle Harry as he knew about this and he also knew that she hated it when there were more than ten people in a room with her. She had been like this since she stopped going out so often; she wasn't sure why it had happened, this crowd-hating, it just had. But she couldn't begrudge them shouting their news from the rooftops; they had wanted a child for a while now.

She was just mumbling a tickling curse with her wand under the table, pointed at Harry, when a familiar looking man came towards her. She immediately halted what she was doing and tried to sink back into the wall; she wasn't ready to chat to anyone other than Harry and Jenny. He was a tall, muscular, well, at least he looked muscular under his shirt, and he was dark haired. Something about his face was familiar but she couldn't put her finger on it.

"Hi," his smooth, deep voice travelled across the table to her. '_Bugger it, he saw me_,' she thought to herself as she forced a smile at him. "You don't remember me, do you?" He sat himself down next to her. She could smell a sweet smelling aftershave on him.

"You seem familiar but I just don't know why," she told him politely before proceeding to stare down at her drink.

"Oliver Wood," he stuck his hand out for her to shake. She winced as his firm grip wrapped round her dainty hand, "I was Gryffindor's Quidditch team captain. I taught Harry the rules of the game when he joined the team." He finally let go of her hand as he flashed another smile at her.

"I remember you now. Now will you stop smiling at me like that, I'm not one of your love-struck fans," she snappily told him. She was annoyed at the fact that he wasn't leaving anytime soon.

"I'm sorry, it's just you looked lonely and I wanted to cheer you up," he told her in a patronising tone with his smile still plastered over his face. She looked him straight in the eye and glared.

"I'll let you stay and cheer me up if you can remember what my name was," she said smugly with a grin to match. He was thoroughly grating on her last nerve with his presence of thinking he's something bigger than what he was. However, her smugness was soon wiped away with his response.

"Hermione Granger, the Gryffindor bookworm who had the answers to everything. You gave Percy Weasley a run for his money in the knowledge department and last but not least, the one fact I will never forget; you made Harry's glasses repel water in my last year at Hogwarts during the match against Hufflepuff. We lost the match but still, it gave us hope," he glanced at her after circling the top of his glass with his thumb while he spoke, "I'll just go now, you quite clearly don't want company." He got up and left Hermione opening and shutting her mouth. She was trying to call him back but she was too stunned to do anything.

"You'll catch flies," Jenny giggled to her as she sat down next to her. Hermione snapped her mouth shut and lowered her head in shame. She had been so horrible, how could she? "What's the matter, Hermione? Do you need to go home?" Jenny started to panic that something was wrong with Hermione. They should have taken her home ages ago; she hates leaving the house. She started to get up again to get Harry but Hermione soon stopped her.

"No, I'm fine. I'm just a little ashamed of how I spoke to Oliver," she explained with a blush creeping into her cheeks.

"What did you say?" Jenny gasped, "Oliver's lovely, and you should see the girls that are after him." She giggled again. Hermione frowned thinking that she had been sneaking a drop of Fire whiskey into her pumpkin juice. She only acted like this under the influence of alcohol.

"I was just a little snappy with him. I'll go and say sorry," she scooted out of her corner and shakily made her way over to the group of six men that Oliver was stood with. She took a breath as she tapped him on the shoulder from behind. As he turned round to face her, the whole group started to eye her up. "Could I talk with you for a minute?" she asked timidly while he gave her a stony look.

"Go on then," he told her without moving away from the group he was with. She looked at him pleadingly but he was refusing to move away from the pack of men who were all starting to wink and smile at her. Her temper flared again.

"Forget it. I don't know why Jenny thinks you're lovely," she hissed at him before storming over to Harry, "I'm going, tell Jenny I said bye." Before he knew what was happening, Hermione had already apparated home. She was furious and ready for an argument. This was how she would feel when Ron and she would argue. Then the tears threatened to come at the painful realisation that he would never argue back with her.

She walked through her large flat that was in a friendly area of Wimbledon, she went through the kitchen, living room, guest bedroom, bathroom, her small library room and then finally her bedroom. It was her little ritual if she felt that she was going to start crying about Ron; it was best she prevented it otherwise she would cry for hours. She sat on her king-size bed as she looked at the photos she had on the walls. The one of Harry, Ron and herself in their first year caught her eye. Harry was rolling his eyes while Ron and Hermione argued; she laughed at the image.

Crookshanks lazily strolled into the room and jumped up on the bed next to her. He eyed her up which told her he wanted affection….now. She curled up on the bed and let him stretch out across her side; before long, she had nodded off.

Hermione jumped when her alarm clock started buzzing; she muttered some obscenities as she turned it off. She blinked away the dryness in her eyes before staring at the clock. Was today going to be like any other day where she now stayed there for hours before finally getting up or would she get up and start doing something with herself? She growled at herself for being so pathetic and wallowing in self pity.

She spent nearly an hour churning things over in her mind, making mental notes about what she should do and listing who she should visit; her parents were number one on list. Then was a loud knock at her front door which caused her to frown; who would be visiting her at this time of the morning, Harry and Jenny knew better and she didn't speak with her neighbours. She thanked the high heavens that she had fallen asleep in her clothes so that she didn't have the embarrassment of answering the door in her pyjamas. She stopped at the mirror by the front door to hastily flatten her wild hair.

"Give it up and go to a hairdresser," it scolded her when all the frizzy bits pinged back up. She growled as she grabbed a hair-band from the side table below the mirror and hastily tied it up. The person on the other side of the front door knocked loudly and quickly.

"Just wait!" she snapped at the door. Finally she was ready to answer the door and she regretted her actions the second she did.

"How dare you embarrass me in front of my team mates," Oliver hissed at her as he barged into her flat and walked straight down the hallway and into her living room.

"MY GOD, YOU'RE HUNTING ME DOWN TO ARGUE!" she shouted down the hallway as she closed the front door. She stormed down the hallway with a 'You tell him' off the mirror and slammed the living room door shut behind her. "HOW DARE YOU BARGE INTO _MY_ HOME AND START AN ARGUMENT!"

"_YOU _STARTED THIS, SO I'M GOING TO FINISH IT!" he yelled back as they squared up to each other. He lowered his voice as he got closer to her, "You owe me an apology."

"I was going to give you your apology last night but you lost the right to it when you….." she couldn't finish. She felt silly saying, 'Made me speak in front of a group of strange people' it was something a child would say.

"Go on," he pushed. He looked her up and down in anger, "Are you wearing the same clothes as last night?" She blushed as he sneered at her.

"Leave my house," she demanded quietly as she sat down on her couch. He frowned at how quickly her fight disappeared; he felt so let down at not being able to have his argument.

"You're not so rude when you don't have an audience," he laughed cruelly at her. She bit her lip hard to stop herself from crying; she couldn't handle this now, she wasn't strong enough.

"You're right I need an audience to argue, so you can go now. You know where the front door is," she spoke monotonously as she stared down at small rug covering the oak floorboards. Ron had picked the tiny thing and Hermione couldn't help but let him keep it in the living room; it was the only time he had gone shopping for house things with her. Oliver frowned at her change in mood.

"I don't how Harry's stayed friends with you all these years; you're moods are too bloody erratic," he scowled at her before leaving her flat. She finally let the tears fall when she heard the resounding slam of her front door.


	3. Who's Apologising?

**Disclaimer:** I believe we have already decided on the fact that it all belongs to the lucky devil that is Ms Rowling, apart from Jenny, she be mine:-)

**A/N:** On with the thank you's. **SnapeSeraphin - **It's nice to know you are keeping an eye on me, it's here and awaiting your opinion:-). **JTBJAB - **Interesting how? I hope you like it though and thanks for reviewing. **sarcastic - **I'm glad you think it's got a great start, let's hope it stays great:-) Hope you enjoy this one. **BrennaM - **Yeah it is nice to see someone else with Hermione, but all my stories seem to be Hermione working her way through the blokes of Harry Potter land, hehe. **Lady Norskstar - **I can't believe this is your first Oliver/Hermione story, I'm so pleased. Well, I hope it keeps you hooked. **fuzzypuff - **I hope you like this chapter. **grahamcrackers - **I can't believe you think this is gonna be a good one, I'm so honoured that you like it so much. Hope the update is to your liking. **MysticEyes818 - **Are they gonna hook up? You'll have to keep reading to find out:-) **FlairVerona - **And there'll be more mood swingyness. **Chantal J - **The update was quite soon but I have a flow now so it should be updated a lot sooner each time. **sortinghat086 - **Hope you like this chapter. **wyldetygress - **Don't worry, I am continuing. I never give up on a story otherwise it'll annoy me that it's still hanging there. Hope you enjoy.

Right my wonderful readers, was having a bit of trouble carrying on from chapter 2 and wrote this chapter about four or five times, maybe more, I've lost count. I have finally got a good flow on this one and have the next four chapters already written, they just need to be sent to my beta when completely ready. Which reminds me, **a big hug and wet kiss for my wonderful beta for taking the time out to do this story.** Anyway, I hope this chapter is up to scratch for you all and let me know if there are any problems with it.

**Who's Apologising?**

Hermione let the tears fall for barely five minutes when her anger came flooding back. Oliver Wood was a jumped up little twerp who needed bringing down a peg or two, and she was just the person to do it. She huffed and puffed as she got up and stormed to the bathroom. She never backed down in an argument with Ron and she was going to marry him; so why should that big-headed idiot be any different? She slammed on the shower before beginning to virtually rip her clothes off. It was one thing shouting at her but to come to her home and insult her; how dare he!

She almost tripped as she got into the shower; a thought had suddenly popped into her head thus ceasing all thoughts of bringing pain to Oliver Wood. How did he know where she lived? She squirted some shampoo into her hand while pondering the question. Before she could even start to rub it into her hair she realised that only one person could possibly have told him.

It was safe to say that Hermione had never showered so quickly, she hadn't even attempted to put conditioner in her hair; what was the point anyway? It still liked to go wild with a whole bottle of conditioner used on it. Within minutes she was dried, dressed and ready to throttle.

* * *

"Potter," Oliver growled as he stormed pass Harry and into Harry and Jenny's home, "What is wrong with that damn friend of yours?" Harry frowned at him as he watched his team mate disappear into his living room.

"It's nice to see you too, Oliver," he mumbled as he closed the door, but he didn't get much further as he heard a sharp crack behind him. He spun round to find an annoyed Hermione glaring at him.

"What on earth were you thinking," she growled while poking him in the chest with each word, "giving that power-mad fool my address?" Harry barely had any time to speak when Oliver came stalking out of the living room.

"Why is sh-…YOU!" he shouted when he clapped eyes on Hermione. Her blood started to boil when she heard his voice; Harry gulped in fear at the look on her face, that look scared him. She slowly turned round to face Oliver. Jenny had just reached the bottom of the stairs across the hallway from the living room just as Hermione gripped Oliver by the scruff of his collar, and then dragged him into the living room before slamming the door behind her.

"What's going on?" Jenny asked with confusion written all over her face.

"I don't know but I think we'll stay upstairs until it's sorted," Harry spoke in a cheerfully false voice as he led his wife back up the stairs.

* * *

"You owe me an apology," Hermione demanded to Oliver. They were squaring up to each other in the middle of the room, but Oliver was winning as he was a whole head taller, Hermione just seemed to be glaring at his chest.

"Now hang on, you bloody irate woman, _you_ owe _me_ the apology," he demanded in return, using his height to his full advantage. Where had this mood swing come from? This wasn't the same woman he had left less than an hour ago.

Hermione was beginning to shake with rage, her wand still tight in her right fist from Apparating herself there. A subconscious debate was raging on with her fury, should she put her wand away or not? It might come in useful but then she might do something she'll regret. The sensible side of Hermione won outright as she shoved the wand into her jeans pocket.

"You come into _my_ home and you shout at me, insult me, hurt my feelings and make me feel like a fool. It's you that owes me the apology," her voice was getting louder and more shrilly with each word, and she refused to let the fact he was towering over her affect her. Oliver shook his head in disbelief.

"No, you started this. I was trying to be friendly and you threw it back in my face, then you embarrass me in front of my team mates, and then when I confront you about it, you're suddenly quiet as a mouse. Yet not an hour later you're finally ready to argue when I'm not. So it's you that owes me the apology," Oliver was now out of breath and had gone bright red from his rant. He felt much better for it though, "Now, if you don't mind, I'm starving and would like some food. So when you've stopped being such a weirdo, we could go and get something to eat and listen to your apology to me."

"I AM NOT A _WEIRDO_!" Hermione yelled indignantly. She was thoroughly shocked; no one had ever called her that before. Her face was bright pink as she tried with all her might to rise to his childishness.

"Then why do your moods change all the time with no warning or reason? Surely it can't be the menopause," Oliver was getting tired of this, his stomach was growling away for food and he never could sustain an argument. No one could really get a decent argument out of him; he preferred to sulk about it after he'd had a bit of a rant.

"They _change _because you're so rude," she told him through gritted teeth, noticing that his bad mood was evaporating quickly. She looked at him unsure whether she'd won or not.

"I was rude because you were such a cow when all I wanted to do was keep you company," he told her with a bored tone sneaking into his voice. That was it, the last of his anger gone; it was now food on the mind.

"I was rude because I prefer to be alone," she snapped at him with bitterness in her voice. She hadn't won, it was him giving up. She sighed as she pushed past him to sit on the couch; staring him the eye was beginning to hurt her neck and there was no point in going on if he wasn't ready to fight back. Oliver, however, wanted to know more now. Pushing his thoughts of food to one side he went to sit next to her.

"You were rude to me because you like being alone," he stated as he leant forward resting his elbows on his knees, "What sort of excuse is that? Were you not brought up with manners?" He saw anger flash across her eyes as she glowered at him; finally, he was getting somewhere with the insanity that was Hermione Granger.

"It's perfectly valid excuse if you know me, and you don't," she spat at him, folding her arms in annoyance. He was sat there with a smug smile and it was taking all over willpower not to wipe it off for him, it reminded her too much of Draco Malfoy.

"But I was trying to get to know you last night, only you insulted me," he laughed at her which infuriated her even more.

"I like only knowing Harry and Jenny, it keeps me….." she couldn't continue her sentence. Oliver watched her as she fiddled with a loose piece of thread on her jeans, waiting for her to carry on, only she didn't.

"You're a mysterious one, aren't you?" he half joked to her, knowing that he was close to finding out why she had such a chip on her shoulder, he didn't want to get her bad mood again. She frowned at him in response to his pitiful joke.

"Look, I didn't mean to be rude last night, it's just I don't get out much, I don't _like_ to go out, I hate being in crowds and I like to keep my distance from people," she carefully watched his expression as she spoke to him, looking for any signs that he was about to insult her. "Harry and Jenny are the only ones I keep close and even that's a struggle." She took a deep breath, she felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders just by telling him that small bit about her.

"I'm confused," he started, "that isn't the Hermione I remember in Hogwarts. From the stories I heard you were always out and about, nearly getting yourself killed with Harry and the Weasley's little brother, what's his name?"

"Ron," she felt her heart wrench at the mention of him.

"That's it. You three were inseparable _and_ you were _never_ rude," he chuckled at the last part. He looked at her and was horrified to find her eyes welling up with tears. "What've I done now?" She half laughed half choked at him, trying her best not to cry.

"Nothing……it's nothing," she lied to him. Oliver poked her in the side causing her to jump at the contact, "What was that for?"

"I don't get on with people who lie to me," he explained to her with half a grin, half a scowl.

"We've not being doing a bad job of it so far. We've done nothing but snipe at each other and that gives me reason, just a small one," she demonstrated the size with her thumb and forefinger, "to believe that we haven't be getting along so far." Oliver laughed at her silliness; he didn't know anyone that could flip an argument into a joke.

"How about we get something to eat and you can tell me why this 'nothing' caused you to be so rude to me," he took his wand out of his jacket pocket and held his arm out to her, " and then you can finally give me that apology."

"No, no, no, no and no. You owe me the apology and you obviously don't listen; I.DON'T. LIKE. CROWDS," she snapped at him, his conceitedness bringing back the reason why she was rude to him in the first place. Oliver suddenly leaned forward and gave her a puppy-dog look. He snapped back when what sounded like a growl escaped Hermione's throat.

"I never said we were going to a crowded place and we can discuss the apology once I've eaten," he offered her arm once more but she just stared at it, "Come on, woman, I'll wither away at this rate." She finally gave in, feeling her own need for food begin to win over her stubbornness, she gripped the crook of his arm and stopped him from Apparating them.

"This doesn't mean I'll be talking about my 'nothing' though," she informed him. Oliver gave her a grin and muttered a 'we'll see' before Apparating them out of Harry and Jenny's living room.

* * *

"It's quiet down there. You don't think she killed him do you?" Harry asked softly while peering down the stairs, "We need him for a match on Saturday." Jenny laughed at where Harry's priorities lay. She leant against the doorframe of their bedroom while she watched him bob up and down, trying to get a view of the living room door.

"Go and check on them, you look like you've got ants in your pants doing that," she instructed him. Harry glanced back at her, then down the stairs and then once more at her before taking a deep breath and nodding.

"Wish me luck," he told Jenny as he gingerly stepped down on to the first of the stairs. He listened carefully for any sudden noises as he made his way down the stairs. Once he reached the bottom, he strained his ears trying to hear what was being said but heard nothing. He tip-toed across to the living room door and opened it enough to peek in; they were gone. He flung the door open and scanned the room. "JENNY, I THINK THEY'VE KILLED EACH OTHER!"


	4. To Move OnFrom What?

**Disclaimer: **None of it's mine apart from Jenny. The rest belongs to the wonderous one that is Ms Rowling

**A/N: **Thanks to **w1cked angel, Lady Pirate Nancy Kington, Ashes Kittyhawk, sarcastic, sortinghat086, data soong, Lady Norskstar, Chantal J and wyldetygress **for being the wonderful people that they are and reviewing. And a big thanks to **Peanuts107** for being a beta for this chapter. You should all go read her ficcys, they're excellent. Hope you enjoy this chapter, I've been re-writing itfor nearly a month now.

* * *

**To Move on……From What?**

Hermione was still reeling from the turn of events. She had gone to Harry's ready to beat him black and blue, but instead had ended up losing her barely started battle, and was now about to order brunch with the bane of her existence. Funny that, she'd only been back in touch with Oliver Wood for less than twenty-four hours and she already considered him nothing less than a nuisance.

She glanced around the small café he'd taken her to. It was a quaint little place and decorated like a farmhouse kitchen; cosy. She noticed the minute they stepped into the place that there wasn't anybody there except the dear old lady pottering about. Oliver had led her to a corner table and was now enthralled by the menu with hunger in his eyes. Hermione frowned as she turned back to look at Oliver.

"Okay, you've proved your point, you do listen. But why is it empty here when it's right in the middle of Diagon Alley?" Hermione asked while staring at him. She found herself liking his warm eyes, they seemed to have a joke hidden behind them. She jumped when he looked up at her; she blushed a little as she looked back down at the menu.

"This is their quiet period. They'll get busy in about an hour so I'd hurry up and order if you're so scared of crowds," Oliver teased her a little at the end of his sentence, not noticing that she was now avoiding looking at him.

"Are you ready to order, Olly?" the old lady asked from the counter as she folded the last napkin in her pile.

"I see you come here often," Hermione stated dryly as she closed her menu.

"I'll have the pancakes, Mabel, I've not had them in ages," he politely told the woman while ignoring Hermione's comment.

"And what about you, dear?" Mabel asked Hermione as she wandered over to their table.

"I'll just get some toast please," Hermione smiled sweetly at her as she put her menu back on it's holder at the side of the table.

"I can't interest you in a full English?" Mabel pushed, "You look a little thin, if you don't mind me saying." Hermione shook her head gently as she felt a pang over the motherliness Mabel was showing to her. She hadn't been to visit her parents in a while and missed them desperately, but this was the plan; stop people getting close and she won't get hurt again. However, hadn't she changed her plan just this morning? Hadn't she decided that it was time to keep her loved ones close? Yes, and she would; starting straight after her brunch.

"Actually, I'll have some pancakes too," Hermione told her, much to Mabel's relief; the girl needed some fat in her diet and there was no denying it. Mabel smiled and with a click of her fingers the food appeared in front of them.

"Let me know if you need anything else, I'll be in the kitchen, Olly," Mabel instructed them before disappearing with a point of her wand. Oliver instantly started shovelling his pancakes into his mouth while Hermione watched in amusement. It was like being back at Hogwarts and watching Ron and Harry after Quidditch practice.

Hermione began to nibble on her pancakes while Oliver ate them like they were going out of fashion. She enjoyed the silence that had passed over between them, it'd been a while since she'd welcomed someone's company that wasn't Harry and Jenny. And she's almost choked on a piece of her pancake when she realised how she felt about his company.

"So do I get to find out why the great Gryffindor bookworm has gotten so rude to people?" Oliver demanded more than asked after he'd finished his food. She jumped at the sudden sound of a voice after being so deep in her thoughts. She glanced up at him to find an expectant look on his face.

"You're a bit sure of yourself if you think I'll answer questions like that so quickly," she playfully snapped at him. It had been less than twenty-four hours since Oliver had gone over to her in the pub but she felt an ease of being with him wash over her. It was almost like she was back at Hogwarts again before everything wasn't so carefree anymore.

"Why do you keep avoiding these questions?" he smiled as he spoke. She had originally annoyed him so much that he would have been the most grateful person never to have seen her again. But now, he wanted to know everything, he hated it when things were off bounds to him.

Both Hermione and Oliver watched each other before either one spoke. They had known each other in school but didn't in another sense of the word. Oliver was Gryffindor's Quidditch captain to her and Hermione was the person who had a spell for every situation that was always by Harry's side to him.

Hermione watched him with intensity to make sure her decision was the right thing; was Oliver the person she was ready to let in first? To let him know what had made Hermione Granger like this? Why him though? She looked further to find an answer and couldn't find one; it was something inside telling her now was the time to start moving forward again.

Just as she was ready to start answering his questions Oliver had suddenly jumped up as he dropped some money on the table. She frowned, wondering what he was doing. He grinned at her before holding his hand out to her.

"Come with me, I have something I want to show you," he instructed. Without a second thought she took his hand and let him pull her up and out of the café. He pulled her through the crowds so quickly that she had no time to think on the fact that she was in the middle of her worst fear. Before she knew it they were outside the Leaky Cauldron and off down the street.

"Tell me," she huffed, "why can't we just Apparate?" Oliver shouted something over his shoulder but it was drowned out by a double Decker bus passing them. Hermione shrieked when he tugged hard on her arm around a corner and then into a building. After a stitch had started to attack at Hermione's left side, they came to a stop on the roof of the building they had entered.

"Why didn't we Apparate?" she panted as she bent over trying to get her breath back while Oliver's breathing was like he had simply gone for a stroll rather than half jog half ran to their destination.

"Because I like to exercise and by the looks of it, you need to exercise more often," he spoke softly as he forced her to stand straight and take deep breaths. "Feeling better?" She gave him a nod before he took her to the edge of the building. "I wanted to show you this view."

Hermione looked at what he was showing her and it was the view of London as far as the eye could see. Some would say it was breathtaking but it just didn't take hers away. She peered at Oliver to find him watching her with eagerness.

"It's a view of London, what do you want me to say?" she asked firmly but tried to keep the rudeness out of her voice. Oliver's face cracked into a smile as he moved away from the edge. She frowned at his reaction while he conjured a blanket in the middle of the roof and went to sit on it. She followed his lead and sat by him. "You're weird, you know that right?" she asked rhetorically.

"Not as weird as you," Oliver bit back. "I brought you here to check that you hadn't gone soft on me. You looked like you were getting soppy back in the café and I don't do soppy. So after your rude reaction to my favourite view, I can now safely resume my tirade of questions that you seem to always avoid."

"You're so infuriating, are you like this with everyone?" Hermione snapped, he was grating on her nerves again.

"Meh, it happens," he told her casually, "but I have a plan for us before we get into another raging argument. If we have another one people will begin to think that we're a couple and I'd rather that didn't happen, if you don't mind?"

"Not at all," Hermione confirmed for him with a smile she couldn't hide, "So what's this big plan to stop us arguing, which I doubt will work seeing as I'm rude and you're cocky and obnoxious?" Oliver shook his head in amusement before proceeding to tell her his plan.

"Right, this is it. We're going to start from the beginning. It'll be like we met today for the first time in nearly fifteen years, we'll ignore the past twenty-four hours. They're gone, they don't exist anymore," he told her excitedly. "Are you ignoring it?"

"Yes, last night and this morning are gone, never to return again," she joked along with him. She hadn't even realised that weight on her heart of missing Ron wasn't as heavy as it had been. For the first time in a year she was heartily laughing.

"Okay," Oliver held his hand out to Hermione, "Hi, I'm Oliver Wood. I don't know if you remember me but I was in Gryffindor with you, and the captain of the Quidditch team." Hermione smiled as she took his hand and shook it.

Hello, Oliver, I'm Hermione Granger and yes I do remember you. My best friend, Harry Potter was the Seeker for the Quidditch team. You taught him the rules of the game," she told him between giggles. "It's been a while, Oliver, how've you been?"

"I've been very well, Hermione, thank you for asking. I play Quidditch for a living now and I'm on the same team as your best friend, Harry Potter," Oliver himself was beginning to crack with laughing. "Now that we're formally introduced again, shall we speedily move on and find out what've we've been doing over the years?" Hermione nodded feeling more than comfortable to let a new person in on her life; she just couldn't work out why it was him. How about we alternate questions?"

"I think that's fair," Hermione concluded instantly while settling to lie on her side with her elbow propping her up.

"What did you do when you'd left Hogwarts?" he asked as he lay back with his arms behind his head.

"The very first thing I did when I graduated was go into a battle with Harry, you know the outcome on that," she told him matter-of-factly.

"Of course, who doesn't?" he asked rhetorically.

"After that I went to work at the Ministry helping the Aurors in research of better and stronger spells. I loved that job, I was learning new things everyday," she spoke fondly as she remembered the things she did. But before Oliver could ask why she left, she threw her question at him. "The last time I saw you was at that Quidditch world cup, you'd just been signed up with a Quidditch team if I remember correctly?"

"Yup, Puddlemere United reserve, I was so happy," Oliver confirmed for her.

"What happened with them?"

"I stayed on the reserve team, they never gave me a chance. It took me six years to leave them. I was always hoping they would eventually put me on the proper team, but no luck. Finally I was signed with Falmouth Falcons and played only a few games with them before I was signed with the Magpies and I've been with them for about eight and half years," he told her passionately, making it clearly obvious Quidditch had still been his number one love over the years. "Right, why did you leave the job at the Ministry if you loved it so much?" Hermione smiled, she knew he'd remember to ask that question straight away. She sighed before telling him the answer.

"Because it was doing that job that killed my fiancé," she told him with a sad smile. Oliver shot up and turned to face her with shock all over his face.

"You were-"

"Ah-ah, that would be two questions if you continued with that sentence, we're meant to do this alternately," she half joked, trying to bring back the lightness of the situation.

"You're sneaky giving me an answer like that and not telling me anymore," he grumbled as he lay back down. He looked to her waiting for his question.

"Has there been or is there anyone special since you left school?" she asked with a certainty that there would be no one but a long list of notches on his bedpost. He sat up slowly and turned so that he was sat cross legged and facing her.

"I had a fiancée who died three years ago," he told her and for the first time since she'd died, Oliver had tears in his eyes.


	5. Discovering Each Other

**Disclaimer: **sigh The shopping I could do, the places I could see, the life I could lead if it all belonged to me but it doesn't, they're Ms Rowling's.

**A/N: **Here be my thank yous to the delightful people who give me a reason to write this. **SnapeSeraphin - **Here be an update for you. I try my best with Oliver, but I'm never happy. I'm glad you like the way I write him. Hope you enjoy this chapter. **Nutto -**Do mine eyne deceive me? Was that a review off you? I'm glad you like this pairing and thanks for being such a love and being my beta. **w1cked angel - **I know it's a horrible way to connect but it does happen sometimes, hope you like this chappy. **Lady Norskstar - **Here's a relatively speedy update from me, hope you continue to like. **Chantal J - **I updated it and it was quite quick for me:-) **SongOfStars - **I hurried, it's here for you. Hope you like. **SpikesDreamer - **I'm glad you like this story and may you continue to like. **Isis3110 - **I'm glad you like, of course, Oliver is always on loan to you as you saw him first;-).

I can now confirm that updates will definitely be more often as the story is now finished and I'm becoming more and more happy with the work I've been doing on the chapters. I just hope I don't disappoint you all. And I have to say another big thanks to **Peanuts107 aka Nutto **for beta-ering this story and so quickly as well. I urge you all to go read her wonderful ficcies, her Hufflepuff one is amazing. Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

**Discovering Each Other**

Hermione slowly sat up to look Oliver in the face; one tear fell down his cheek as he looked down at his crossed legs. She didn't know what to say or do, she was feeling awful about bringing it up, but then how was she supposed to know? At least she could understand what he was feeling, maybe that could be of some comfort to him.

"Oliver, I'm so-" she started.

"Don't you dare apologise! You didn't know," he half sniffed half snapped. Hermione jumped at the hint of harshness to his voice. That wasn't fair, she'd just told him the exact same thing. She started to stand up feeling uneasy being there with him. "Where are you going?"

"I think it's best that I go," she told him. He frowned but before he could say anything she had Apparated away. She appeared in her living room and as soon as she did she was being shaken roughly by the shoulders.

"_Where _on_ earth_ have you _been_!" Harry demanded with his voice changing pitch with every word, "I thought you were _dead_!" Hermione finally got a grip on things and swept Harry off his feet with a flick of her wand. She looked to Jenny on the couch, who was reading a magazine, for an explanation.

"His imagination's had him doing a merry dance….._again_," she told Hermione without looking up at her. Hermione nodded in understanding before helping Harry back up.

"I went to get something to eat with Oliver," she explained glumly her absence to Harry. She had this niggling feeling in the pit of her stomach, it was like it had really hurt her the way Oliver had spoken to her. She ignored it; all it could be is that she knew where he was coming from.

"But I thought you two were in the middle of a raging war with each other?" Harry asked with confusion etched across his face. Hermione shrugged her shoulders with a sigh before sitting down next to Jenny. "Which reminds me, why _are_ you two arguing?"

"Long story," Hermione spoke softly, not really in the mood to talk.

"But how can it be a long story? You hadn't seen him in years and then within moments you're arguing. My god, is my head hurting trying to work this one out," he stomped his foot like a petulant child, "Start from the beginning, Hermione, or the man will be murder to train with," he snappily instructed before sitting on the other side of Hermione.

"Ignore him, it's quite obvious why you two were arguing from the moment you clapped eyes on each other last night," Jenny told Hermione flippantly.

"It is?" Hermione and Harry asked in unison. Jenny smiled as she snapped the magazine shut and threw it on to the small coffee table by her side.

"Yes, it is. You're both so alike in many aspects that an argument was inevitable," she explained to them as though it was the most obvious thing to have known. Hermione scrunched her freckled nose at the theory while Harry shook his head in disagreement.

"I've known Hermione for more than half my life and there isn't the remotest similarity or shared interest between them. Anyway, when did you get to know Oliver so well?" Harry asked.

"After all this time you still don't believe that I have a job, and friends, and a life," Jenny mocked him.

"You have a……no I can't bear to say it…..you have a _life_!" Harry played along with the joke. "But that didn't answer my question."

"There's thing called a lunch break, Harry, it's where people with dull jobs, like me, have a rest in the middle of the day so that they can get food," Jenny spoke with such a sarcasm that it was like she was telling a three year old the ways of the world.

"Oh stop, please before I die from laughter," Harry instructed her sarcastically.

"Now, now, children, don't make me put you in separate rooms," Hermione told them causing them to remember who was sat between them. "Don't you two ever get tired of doing that to each other?" she asked them with intrigue.

"Never, it's one of the things that I love most about him," Jenny told her with a big grin. Hermione laughed as she realised that Harry was changing with each year that aged him. Then it dawned on her, it wasn't Harry that had changed, it was her. What Harry had with Jenny was what she had with Ron, then it was all cruelly snatched away from her. That was the exact thing that had made her a different Hermione, the one that Oliver and Harry once knew was barely there.

"What happened to Oliver's fiancée?" she suddenly asked them causing them to instantly drop there silly squabbling.

"He told you?" Harry asked in shock. "When did he tell you?"

"About ten minutes ago," she told them as she picked at one of her nails. She waited for them to tell her but only silence came to her ears. She looked to Jenny and then Harry, both their expressions unreadable. "Why won't you tell me?"

"I think that's something you should ask Oliver about," Jenny was almost whispering. "But you should know, Hermione, we went to her funeral and he's refused to speak about her since. He doesn't even tell anyone new that he was engaged."

"You told him about Ron, didn't you?" Harry asked but knew the answer already. She glanced at him.

"I didn't tell him it was Ron, just that I'd lost my fiancé. We were starting afresh; it was silly that we were arguing like that. So we began asking questions about each other," she paused as she got up and began to tidy the living room. As quick as she had started, she stopped with a photo frame in her hand, "I actually feel like it's time for me to move on properly, and Oliver helped do that in a short space of time."

"Hermione, that's great news!" Harry exclaimed excitedly before jumping up to give her a hug.

"Then why do I feel so guilty? Why was it Oliver that helped me so much when he doesn't even know me? Why him and not you two, or my family, or the Weasleys?" she took a breath from the questions that kept flooding her. So many questions needed answering and she didn't know where to start. Her feelings were every where, they had been since last night, and she couldn't work out how to put them in order.

"I think you need some time alone, Hermione," Jenny suggested to her, "You know where we are." Hermione smiled at them and gave them both a hug before they left her. And just as soon as they were gone, Crookshanks picked that moment to stroll into the room. She watched him idly as he snaked his way through her legs and then went to sit on the chair that he had claimed as his own.

"I wish I was you, I bet you've never felt heartbreak," she spoke to the cat softly as she knelt down next to the chair and began lazily stroking him. He simply answered her with a purr of contentment.

* * *

It had been twelve days since Hermione had left Oliver on the roof of that building. Everyday she would get up the minute her alarm clock began to ring and jump in the shower. It was the first time in months she'd gotten her morning routine back, but that was as far as she had gotten on the road of living her old life again. Her days were spent thinking things through until it hurt to think and when she got like that, she would begin to write everything down. It was like she was trying to plan out her thoughts, search for answers to questions in them.

Then one thought came swimming into her mind so clearly and strong that she was terrified of losing it. She was sat in a chair by the window, basking in the warmth of the sun while she scribbled things down on some parchment. She needed to start with the very thing, or person in her case, that had caused this confusion within her. Without a minute to lose, she was in Harry's kitchen and calling for him.

"Harry! Are you in?" she called through to the living room. She heard voices before she saw Harry coming to the kitchen.

"Hermione, what is it? What's the matter? We were getting worried, it'd been that long," Harry frantically quizzed her. She held her hand up to stop him.

"I need Oliver's address, I have to see him," Hermione urgently told him. But Harry didn't have to say anything as Oliver walked into the kitchen. "Can I talk to you?"

"I'll be in the living room," Harry told them before leaving and closing the door behind him. They both moved to sit at the table in silence. She felt nervous about what she was ready to tell him. She just hoped it might help him, just like he'd helped her without him realising it.

"My fiancé's name was Ron Weasley and he'll have been for a year next month. When he died, I lost interest in life. I never went back to my job, I would spend days in bed, I still do. But, since that night we met up again, I haven't spent one single day in bed feeling like that life was this unbearable agony to live through," Hermione finally took a breath and stopped fiddling with the loose thread on her t-shirt to look up at him.

Oliver had watched her nimble fingers the whole time, twisting the little thread around one finger and then removing it to only then twist it round the next finger. He was still staring at that thread that lay motionless until it moved, Hermione had stood up. He glanced up to find tears streaming down her face but she had a small smile on her face.

"Why did you tell me that?" he asked with no hint of emotion in his voice as to what was going on inside him.

"I'm not sure really, something just felt right and that it was time to start talking about it with people," she explained to him. She turned to leave through the backdoor into Harry and Jenny's vast garden. But before she went, she turned back to Oliver. "It had to be you I told first because you helped me move on a little, I don't know how you did, but you did. But please don't think of this as me trying to get you to talk about it too; I wouldn't expect that," she opened the door, "Thank you." She walked out of the door and had reached the end of the garden and was nearing to that spot she loved so much when she heard a shout behind her. She spun round to find Oliver running towards her.

"I remember Ron, he was a nice lad," Oliver told her breathlessly. She watched him with intrigue as he took a deep breath before continuing. She took his hand as he stood straight and led him into the forest that lined the end of the garden. After a couple of twists and turns they came to a small clearing with a tiny lake. She let go of his hand and sat down to take her shoes off. Oliver frowned but without thought, he copied her.

Together they shuffled over to the edge of the lake and dipped their feet in. Oliver looked over the lake to the forest that curved around it, he watched as birds flittered in and out of the trees finding it therapeutic. After a few moments had passed he peered at Hermione to find her leaning back on her elbows with her eyes closed, just enjoying the warmth of the sun on her. Oliver leant back on to his elbows while keeping his gaze on her and took a breath.

"Her name was Catherine Williams; the anniversary of her death was two months ago. I'd thought my heart had been ripped out, but I did the opposite to you. I threw myself into my life, didn't give my heart time to grieve and mend. And to be honest, it's still very much in pieces. I thought that if I didn't talk about it, I would forget," Oliver stopped talking, feeling that if he carried on then tears would arrive. Hermione had opened her eyes to look at him.

"On that day I left you after you'd told me, Jenny said that we'd gotten off to such a bad start because we were so alike. But if you ask me, it seems we're nothing but opposites," Hermione pointed out to him, "I spoke about Ron to Harry and Jenny and went through the day he was killed over and over again in my mind because I never wanted to forget."

Oliver finally looked away from the intense gaze Hermione gave him and lay flat on his back. Hermione followed suit while flick the water with her feet. She had found this spot the day Harry and Jenny moved into the house nearly five years ago and she hadn't been here since Ron's funeral.

"Isn't it funny how we've picked each other to talk about it? Why not our families?" Oliver asked without expecting an answer.

"I've been thinking the same thing too," she told him honestly. "Maybe it was our defensive attitude to each other that made us do it."

"You could have a point there," Oliver agreed. He rolled on his side to look at Hermione. "Maybe we shouldn't just leave it here. It seems that we've both through the mill a bit and know what the other is going through. So maybe we should stick together you and me." Hermione closed her eyes for a moment before opening her eyes again to look at him.

"I'd like that; I could always do with another friend. Harry and Jenny don't need me dragging them down any more. They'll have a baby to worry about soon," she told him with a shy smile. "How about we start with me cooking you dinner?"

"Only if we continue with the plan we started on that roof," he bargained with her. She mulled it over before offering her hand to him.

"Deal!"


	6. A New Friendship Brings New Strengths

**Disclaimer: **It really is all Ms Rowling's except Jenny, she's mine.

**A/N: **Big thanks to **Chantal J and Sam**,** Data Soong**,** SpikesDreamer **and** Peanuts107** for reviewing this exceptionally dull story, it means a lot to me to find people reading my stuff. But, and this may just be me being greedy, I only got four reviews for the last chapter. So I was just wondering if people are bored with this story, if so, is there anything I can do to keep your attention, any thoughts on what you might like to happen with this story. Hope you all like this chapter.

* * *

**A New Friendship Builds New Strengths**

Almost two months had passed since that night Hermione and Oliver had met up again and a very strong friendship had formed between them. He was there when she had her days of staying in bed; he would simply climb right in there with her and talk with her, telling her that this isn't how Ron would want her to live. She was there for him on the days where he remained stonily silent about Catherine; she was someone he had loved very much and part of his past, she would tell him it would do him good to talk about his memories of her. It was also an arrangement that Harry and Jenny couldn't be more than happy about. They were hoping that something more would come out of it but Hermione and Oliver made it very clear that would never be the case.

They both had spent hours talking about many things with the subject of how their loved ones had died taking up most of those hours. Ron had been killed by a former Death Eater who had been trying to gain power for himself. Hermione was right there when it happened, she saw him point his wand at him, right in the middle of the crowd. Ron had seen too and was ready to try the new spell Hermione had been working on, but it never worked and before she could blink, Ron was on the floor never to get up again. The whole thing had taken her love away and created her fear of crowds. She couldn't stand the fact that anyone could do something to her without her knowing, 'senses were never at their best with too many people around' as she had once told Oliver.

Catherine had been taken away by something you couldn't really fight, not even magic could help; a brain tumour. Oliver had taken her to all the best medical people he could find, even in the Muggle world, but nothing could be done. Oliver told Hermione how she would cry nearly every day when she woke up, not wanting to die, but then she would dry her tears and carry on with her day. She'd even made a list of the things she had to do in her time left, and she'd done them too. From the day she was buried, Oliver had been so angry at her for leaving him behind, he refused to talk about her, not even the time they had together before her illness. Everyone around him tried to get him to talk but he would blank them if they did, they all soon learnt that Catherine was now a mute subject.

This friendship was all about setting each other tasks to getting back on their feet fully. No more hiding themselves away or building walls around them. It was time to move on and mend their hearts. They each wrote a list of things they wanted to do but fear and pain had stopped them and they swapped the lists. Hermione would pick something off Oliver's list each week, and vice versa, and they had to do it, no matter how hard it was to do. For this week Hermione had to go out and put herself in the middle of a crowd everyday for at least half an hour. Oliver had to visit all the places he used to go to with Catherine, the ones that were just theirs as a couple and that he had avoided like the plague when she died.

The task was definitely the hardest one for Hermione off the list she had made, but she had to do it, if not for herself, then to at least show Oliver that she was strong and could get through this. Today was the first day and she was shaking like a leaf. If there had ever been a time she had to go out for things such as food or toiletries then she would go at times there would be barely any people, like when the shops were literally opening or closing. Or there would always be a way of getting the things she needed without stepping a foot outside.

She took a breath and stood up, then sat back down. She was being silly, it wasn't like she had _never_ been in a crowd since Ron had died. She'd done it a couple of times but she'd been bordering on a panic attack and gone straight home. She stood up and walked over to the living room door but turned back and sat down once more.

"Hermione!" Oliver called from down the hallway, "I'm going to be right by your side the whole time!" Hermione nodded to herself while constantly twisting her hands around one another. She stood up and almost made it to Oliver but turned back round, he dashed over to her and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Come on, you can do this."

"Can't we just walk around Wimbledon for an hour then come back?" she asked as she turned to face him. The look on his face said it all for her, "I thought not," she took a couple of deep breaths before taking his hand, "take me now before I go back into the living room." Hermione felt the familiar sensation of Apparition and then there was noise; lots of it. She opened her eyes to find herself surround by hundreds of people in Diagon Alley. She instantly felt her breath catch in her throat, her heart started to race and her grip tightened dramatically around Oliver's hands.

"I'm not going anywhere," Oliver whispered reassuringly into her ear as she wildly looked around at the people pressing in around her. She found herself searching at everyone's hands, looking to see if they held a wand or if they were reaching for one and if so was it aimed at her? "Hermione, look at me," she slowly turned to her gaze to him, "talk to me about something."

"W-what about?" she asked, her throat dry. She tried to swallow but her throat didn't want to co-operate.

"Anything, think of something," he instructed with a warm smile. She watched his warm brown eyes and made her mind stay on the task Oliver had just set her. She found herself mentally flicking through conversation topics.

"There's, er, a thing I didn't, er, put on the, um, list," she stumbled over the sentence while using all her strength to ignore the people surrounding her and keep her gaze on Oliver's smiling features.

"What is it?" he asked just loud enough for her to hear. Hermione tried to swallow against the roughness but it wasn't helping. Her hands were starting to sweat and she became very aware that Oliver was still holding her hands. She let go of his hands and nervously rubbed her hands dry on her jeans.

"Sorry," she mumbled. He laughed and took her hands back.

"It's okay, now what is it you missed off your list?" She couldn't do it; she began to look around again. She could feel her body begin to shudder with each beat of her heart, she could hear the blood pounding in her ears. Her legs began to shake as she started to fidget on the spot. Oliver pulled on her hands and she glanced back at him. "Your list, Hermione, what's missing off it?" he persisted in his question.

"I c-can't do this, Oliver," she told him, her breath catching with each word, "It's too much."

"I'm not taking you back, I refuse to let you have this fear take you over," he told her in a hard tone. She shook her head as she looked down at their feet. "What is it you need to do that isn't on the list, Hermione?" She ignored him as she took her hands away from him.

"Oliver……this is….." she was gasping for breath now; a panic attack was coming, she could feel it. She started fumbling for her wand but before she could take it out of her pocket Oliver had wrapped her up in a tight hug, her head buried in his chest.

"I'm not letting you go back, not yet anyway," he told her. She could feel him shaking, was it anger? No, that wasn't it, he was shaking because she was. She clung on to him with all her might and took in his scent; it was sweet.

"I…h-haven't……" she felt her breathing begin to slow down, "I haven't seen my parents since Ron's death," she finally managed to tell him. Oliver smiled as he felt her relaxing a little in his arms. He stroked her hair while she kept her face buried in his chest. "I miss them so much but I found it was too painfully to keep them close." He pushed Hermione away and held her at arms length.

"Why?" he asked, making sure Hermione kept her eyes on him.

"Because I was close to Ron and I lost him," she told him tearfully. "Harry and Jenny stayed close because they had magic. I couldn't lock them out, I could with my parents."

"What about Ron's family?" he asked another question. She shook her head, she'd had enough. Her eyes were beginning to wander back to the passing people who were finding them a nuisance just standing there. He nodded in understanding and took her back to her flat.

"How long was that?" Hermione asked with immense relief as soon as she was back in the safety of her living room. Oliver laughed as he looked at his watch.

"Fifteen minutes, nearly," he told her before going into the kitchen to get them some drinks.

"That's fourteen minutes longer than I thought I could stay," she half joked to him. But deep down her fear still had a tight hold of her, every second had felt like a lifetime. Anyone could have hurt them without them being able to protect themselves. And she had to do it again the next day; would she be able to go through all that again?

"I'm very proud of you," Oliver told her proudly as he walked back into the living room and handed her a glass of water. She sat down as she looked at his face and she felt the fear loosen its grip slightly; she would be able to do it again tomorrow because Oliver had faith in her being able to get back into her old life.

"How is that you managed to get me out there at the busiest time in Diagon Alley when Harry couldn't?" she asked him rhetorically, neither one of them could answer that question. "Between him and Jenny, they'd tried at least a dozen times to help me get over this silly fear, but each time Harry ended up with some sort of injury while Jenny would hide before I could get her."

"Wow, you really are one to watch in a temper, aren't you?" he joked as they both settled back on the couch. They sat in a comfortable silence, each making patterns in the condensation on the glass. "You don't think that all this is Catherine and Ron intervening, do you?" Oliver asked uncertainly. Hermione glanced at him thoughtfully while mulling the question over.

"I don't know, to be honest, I've never really thought about things like that," she told him honestly.

"It's just, what are the chances of us meeting up again, even though Harry and I had been on the same team all that time yet we hadn't met before, and having gone through the same sort of experience?" he spoke quickly in a tone that told Hermione he had made up his mind about this.

"I don't know, but you sound like you definitely believe it was down to them," she said with a small smile. He nodded with a goofy grin.

"It makes sense to me because we've really helped each other where the people closest to us couldn't," he spoke excitedly, like he'd just won the Quidditch World cup. She smiled, feeling deep down that maybe he had a point. Oliver leant over and kissed her on the forehead before getting up. "It's time for me to go…..are you sure I still can't get you to come with me?" She nodded.

"These places are something that should stay between you and Catherine, I'd feel like I would be intruding," she explained to him. He gave her a small nod before Disapparating. She slouched down with a sigh hoping that he would be okay by himself. If it had been anything else, she would have been by his side in a heartbeat, but this had to be just his to go through.

An hour later, while Hermione had been making dinner in the kitchen, Oliver had Apparated into her living. She walked in to find him sat on Crookshanks' chair leaning forward with his head in his hands.

"Oliver, what's the matter?" she asked as she rushed over to him and knelt down. He didn't move or answer her. She tried to pull his hands away from his face but his strength overpowered her and he knocked her over so that she was flat on the floor. "Oliver!" she cried as she pushed herself back up onto her knees. It shocked her that he had just done that. Finally he looked at her and she found his face red and damp from crying, she had never seen him like that. She scrambled up to him and pulled him into a tight embrace.

"I miss her so much it feels like I'm being torn in two," he cried into her shoulder. She winced as his arms wrapped painfully tight around her small frame. "I didn't know how much I had locked up until I saw the place I met her."

"Shhh!" she comforted him. She rocked him a little like she would with a child hoping that she could help through this period. She knew it might have brought up some pain, she just didn't realise it would be this bad. Maybe it was just a case of moving backwards before going forwards again.

"Can I stay with you for a bit?" he pleaded with her as he pulled away. She nodded the moment she saw the need in his eyes that were usually so warm but now held nothing but heart wrenching pain. She leant back so that she sat with her legs under her and held on to his hands.

"I…..you….." she couldn't find any words to say to him, "Don't lock it up again," she finally managed to say to him. He nodded slowly, feeling like he was watching himself rather than being there.

"But it was three years ago she died…….three years ago, I shouldn't feel like this now," he told her while the last few sobs left him.

"I don't know why it's hurt you like this, Oliver, maybe it was because you didn't allow yourself to miss her the past three years, I just don't know," she told him dejectedly. She would have given anything right now to help him get through this quickly, but she was lost herself.

"Help me," he begged her. Tears prickled at the corners of her eyes as she knelt back up to hug him.

"We made a deal to stick together, and that's what we're going to do," she reminded him with an extra squeeze.


	7. What Happened?

**Disclaimer: **I've lost count how many times I've put this, but it's all Ms Rowling's, I just mess with it.

**A/N: **I beginning to think that people have gone off this story, but I'm posting it anyway :-). Thanks to **Supernova **and** Chantal J and Sam** for taking the time to review the last chapter, it means a lot. All I have left to say is that this story is now officially finished. I've stopped messing with it and my beta has the last chapter to read over. Which reminds me, big hugs and love to **peanuts107 **for doing the tedious job of reading this thing over. And thanks to **Ellar Shadow Raven **for being my previous beta, hope everything goes well with the show. Hope you enjoy this chapter everyone.

* * *

**What Happened?**

Oliver stayed with Hermione for a couple of days before returning home. He'd become quite withdrawn and would barely speak to her. She felt useless but didn't want to tell him everything would be alright as she'd hated being told that herself. Feeling like she had to be strong for his sake, she even did her 'crowd task' by herself without telling him. For those two days she managed a full half an hour each day before feeling like she was going to hyperventilate. But it was beginning to get easier.

When Oliver had gone back home he'd also stopped visiting Hermione everyday, and not wanting to intrude, she stayed away. She'd asked Harry how he was doing at Quidditch and he told her that he seemed fine, like nothing had happened, but of course Harry didn't know what had happened. Then it hurt her a little when Jenny (who was now proudly showing off a bump) told her that Oliver had been still visiting them everyday. Hermione even made Jenny tell her everything that happened with each Quidditch match, just to check that he was okay.

After a second week had passed with no visit off Oliver, Hermione decided it was time to forget about him. She couldn't work out if it'd been her own doing that he'd forgotten about her or that Oliver had given up on the whole idea of helping each other. She continued with the task of standing in the middle of a crowd each day in different places. It seemed to be working, some days she felt quite safe and would quite happily walk around, other days she could barely stay longer than an hour. But deep down she was missing Oliver and sharing this improvement with him.

Jenny had offered to talk with Oliver but Hermione thought it best to live him to his own devices, she even now firmly believed that she'd caused the rift between them. Both Jenny and Harry thought she was being silly but even they couldn't work out what had happened. They were sure something was going to come of it, even at the protestations from Hermione.

The second week without Oliver rolled into the third and feeling like the friendship hadn't completely closed, Hermione wrote him a letter. She wasn't sure why she'd done it but she had; just a simple thank you for helping her the way he had and that she'd never forget it. Harry had argued with her that maybe she'd done it because she was hoping that it would make him visit her and maybe she had.

"I still catch myself missing him," Hermione told Jenny while they sat in Harry and Jenny's garden. The weather had been unusually warm for an April and they were taking full advantage of it.

"Of course you will, honey, you were going to marry him. But I have to tell you that it's just so nice to see you like this," Jenny spoke as she rubbed her ever growing bump. Hermione laughed at Jenny's misunderstanding.

"Not Ron, Oliver," she corrected her, "I mean, of course I still miss Ron with all my heart," Jenny nodded as she leant back against her chair and closed her eyes. "And what do you mean, 'see me like this'?"

"You're beaming, you have life in your eyes again," Jenny explained to her. Hermione looked at her for a moment while she let what Jenny had said sink in. "Are you sure there was nothing more than friendship there?" she asked suddenly, causing Hermione to jump.

"Positive," Hermione chuckled, "there's only so many times I can tell you that before I hex you." Jenny wafted her hand at her lazily to show her that she knew it was nothing more than an empty threat. "I didn't realise how much his friendship really meant to me."

"Go and see him, Hermione," Jenny urged as she idly opened her eyes and peered at her, "But I still don't understand why he suddenly cut himself off from you. Did you have a huge argument?"

"No, nothing like that. I think it might have been me pushing him to hard to keep remembering Catherine," Hermione told again her theory.

"You've said that before, but how could you have pushed him too much, you were both helping each other a lot," Jenny asked desperately hoping that Hermione would give her the answer this time.

"It's something that Oliver needs to tell you. All I can tell you is that it's my own fault I don't have his friendship anymore," Hermione spoke with sadness. She really did feel like there was a gap missing that belonged to Oliver. "I just hope that I wasn't relying on that friendship so much that I can't keep moving forward without it."

"Hermione, it was just a matter of time before you took those first few steps, all Oliver did was give you a nudge to get you going," Jenny told her encouragingly. Hermione nodded thoughtfully, thinking that she had a point. Since her last encounter with Oliver, she'd actually not had a day where she couldn't get out of bed in the morning. "You see, this is now where we will see the real recovery of Hermione. It's time you did it on your own just like I had to let Harry do it on his own after a while."

"I never realised you could be so deep, Jenny," Hermione teased a little. Jenny scowled at her before winking.

"Just don't let Harry know, it's my secret weapon for when I want my own way," she instructed her.

"Your secret is safe with me," Hermione told her with a giggle. Jenny smiled feeling proud of the work Oliver had started on Hermione. And truth be told, she could definitely see the help Hermione had been to Oliver, but it was just so sad that it had to end there. Or did it? Jenny slouched down further into her chair as she felt a plan forming in her mind.

Harry was the first one into the changing room but was soon followed in by Oliver. He greeted him Harry happily before going over to his locker and pulling out his clean uniform. Harry watched him as he did so, still ever confused at why he was acting like nothing had happened with Hermione. It was quite clear it had from what he was hearing from Hermione, but she was giving nothing away. Harry and Jenny were completely clueless as to what was going on between them, but he was sure that it was more than friendship.

"Oliver," Harry started, hoping that he was doing the right thing for Hermione, "how come you……what exactly……." Harry fidgeted while he tried to find the right question to ask him. Oliver watched with amusement as he continued to get changed. He made three more attempts before finding the right question or more like the right thing to say. "Hermione feels like you blame her for something, she won't tell me what, but she's definitely feels at fault for something that happened," he told Oliver in one breath.

Oliver had stopped what he was doing and stared at Harry. Should he tell Harry, or continue as though nothing has happened? He continued changing without saying a word or looking Harry in the eye, while Harry remained still and watched him. Finally he said something as he closed his locker.

"Hermione did nothing wrong. The only thing she can be blamed for is caring about my feelings too much," Oliver told him truthfully before he walked over to the broom cupboard. Harry frowned at his answer but didn't pursue it as he watched Oliver leave the changing room for the pitch.

Harry's mind wasn't on the practice as he tried to figure out what Oliver had meant by his answer. He wanted Hermione to be happy and he had seen her at her happiest when Oliver was there. But even though she was still forcing herself back into her old life without Oliver, Harry could see that she wanted him there with her as she moved on.

"Why have you stopped talking to her?" Harry asked him as they walked back into the changing room together.

"I haven't stopped talking to her," Oliver told him with a confused look. "What makes you think I've stopped talking to her?" Harry suddenly stopped feeling confused causing his team mates to bump into him from the sudden block in their path.

"Harry, you ain't a ghost, so shift," Daniel Walters, one of the Beaters, snapped as he huffed past. Oliver turned round and walked back to Harry.

"You do realise that it's been nearly a month since you last saw Hermione, don't you?" Harry informed him more than asked. "That's why I, and more to the point, Hermione thinks you've stopped talking to her."

"I know how long it's been, Harry, I just can't be near her right now," Oliver told him huffily before storming off, leaving Harry to chase after him.

"What's she blaming herself for, Oliver?" Harry demanded and spun him back round, "I won't have you leaving her to feel she's done something wrong when you and I both know she hasn't." Oliver sighed loudly as he pushed his hands through his hair roughly.

"It's all to do with Catherine and Ron and how we're helping each other. I can't…there was this list…" he looked at Harry and half turned to the wall before looking back at Harry, "I'm not…….._ready_," he forced out the last word as though it took all his strength to say it.

"For what?" Harry asked completely losing the thread of where the conversation was going. Oliver started fussing around in the small, now deserted, hallway. He kept tapping the wall with his feet and then giving it a small punch. He glanced back at Harry before speaking.

"I….look, I……," he shook his head, "I can't do this, Harry, just tell her I'm sorry and I'll see her soon……I promise," he told him earnestly before turning and walking off to the changing room. Harry shrugged his shoulders to himself, not sure what Oliver was trying to tell him and slowly made his way back to the changing room himself.

Harry went home and told Jenny about Oliver, hoping that she could work out what he had been trying to tell Harry. Jenny was none the wiser either, except for her theory that maybe he really liked Hermione but Harry had scratched that. It was quite clear that he still loved Catherine too much to move onto someone else.

"I don't get why it is they'll only keep this to themselves, it can't be that bad….can it?" Harry asked uncertainly while Jenny and he prepared dinner. Jenny shook her head while throwing some potatoes into the sink to wash themselves.

"I think it's more something they'd shared between them that hurt more than they were expecting," Jenny told him. Harry stopped to look at her before continuing with picking the healthy carrots off the pile of vegetables.

"And how've you worked that one out?" he inquired as he moved to throw the carrots in with the potatoes.

"I'm not sure; I just think they were doing something to help each other. I mean, look at all that time spent together and then suddenly Oliver's staying away," she pointed out to him as she flicked her wand at the wet vegetables causing the skins to slip off them with ease. "But you do know we have to do something, it's obvious that they need each other." Harry froze as he let his wand fill a pan with water.

"I don't like that tone, Jenny, your plans get me into ridiculous trouble, especially with your father for some reason," Harry pouted as he pulled his wand up before the water flowed over the edge.

"This plan will in no way, not even the slightest bit, get you into trouble with my dad," Jenny giggled as she remembered one particular memory from the previous month involving chewing gum and glue, "No, this plan will push Hermione and Oliver together."

"But just fifteen minutes ago you said that Oliver still loves Catherine, and it's pretty much a given Hermione still loves Ron. So tell me, why do you want to push them together?" Harry asked as he sent the chicken flying into the oven.

"Oh pay attention, Harry," Jenny sighed as though he'd just missed a most significant detail, "I don't mean get together romantically. I mean they've obviously have become attached to each other as friends, it just be a shame to see it go to waste." Harry scratched his head in bewilderment trying to work out what was going on in his wife's head.

"I heard myself say it, I know I did, but I'll say it again. Oliver wants time to himself from what I can work out. However, he seems to definitely have plans to get back in touch with Hermione soon," Harry sent a knife over to Jenny's side to chop up the broccoli and cauliflower, "So I don't see how we need to push them together." Jenny tutted in annoyance before sending the carrots and potatoes to be chopped as well.

"You never get my plans. If we leave Oliver and Hermione to do it in their own time then it'll never happen. Hermione will go on wishing she still had him as a friend but won't do anything and Oliver will continue to have his 'space' because he's a man, and men never admit when they've had enough of their 'space'," she told him pointedly while she supervised the chopping of the vegetables.

"How does your mind work?" Harry asked loudly, feeling completely outraged at her train of thought. Jenny turned round with a reply ready to leave her mouth but Harry held his hand up, "Please don't tell me. I'll just wait to see how this plan gets me into trouble."

"You could always blame the hormones," she joked while pulling her dress tight to show her bump off fully. Harry smiled before walking over to give her stomach a kiss.


	8. Hidden Blessing

**Disclaimer: **None of it mine. All of it Ms Rowling's bar Jenny.

**A/N:** Just a quick thanks to **Gabi**, **SnapeSeraphin**, **Data Soong**, **SongOfStars**, **Chantal J and Sam** and **Lady Norskstar**. Sorry it's brief but I'm not allowed to say thank you properly due to the new rule. Hope you all enjoy this chapter.

* * *

**A Hidden Blessing**

Oliver was sat in his large, country style kitchen, basking in the sunlight that poured through the large window. They were coming to the end of May and they'd been having glorious weather since April, perfect Quidditch conditions in his opinion. He leant forward on the large oak table mulling things over, he'd been doing a lot of that the past couple of months. He still hadn't been to see Hermione and was still missing her company. He sat back and pulled out a very ragged piece of parchment from his shirt pocket; it was the very same letter Hermione had sent him a while ago.

Every time he had some time to himself, Oliver would pull the letter out and reread what she had put. The letter had stayed with him ever since he'd received it, it was like her words would give him that extra willpower to stay away from her when he felt it was time to go and see her. He couldn't see her yet, even after all this time.

He sighed as he folded it back up and put it away, it had worked again but it wasn't taking away the ever growing guilt anymore. He felt bad that she thought she'd done something wrong, in fact it was cruel to continue to let her think that. If anything, Hermione had been the only right thing in his life since Catherine. No, it was time to put things right with her. But first he had to visit a place he hadn't been to since Catherine's funeral.

Within minutes Oliver was at Catherine's grave and laying some flowers down on it. He felt tears prickle at his eyes as he looked at the dates inscribed into the tombstone. She'd been so young and had barely started her life. He sat down cross legged against the tombstone while trying to keep the tears from falling.

"I'm sorry I never visited," he sobbed while pulling at blades of grass by his side. Now that he was here, he wasn't sure what he wanted to say. He looked around the graveyard and found a couple in the distance walking with their heads bowed. He wondered if they missed whoever they were visiting as much as he missed Catherine. "I'm sorry I've been ignoring you," he whispered as he looked back down at the grass.

After nearly half an hour of sitting in silence and watching insects live their lives in the grass he turned to face the tombstone. He took a breath before talking again, "I still love you and always will, but I need your blessing on something," he started fidgeting again, picking at the flowers he'd put there, "I feel like I'm betraying you, but please understand that I will never ignore you again till the day I die." Oliver sighed as he stopped twisting petals on a daisy, "Is it possible to love two people?"

"Of course it is, Oliver," a female voice he hadn't heard in a while told him from behind him. He spun round on his knees on shock to find Catherine's younger sister there. "It's been a while, hasn't it?" she grinned as she knelt beside him with her own flowers.

"How've you been, Janey?" he asked sincerely as they both sat down cross legged. She shrugged her shoulders with a sad smile. "I'm sorry I never visited, it's just-"

"Don't worry, honey, we all understood. People react to death in different ways," Janey reassured him as she ran a hand through her short blonde hair, "Just try not to be a stranger with us for much longer, you're family too you know." She nudged him in the ribs to reiterate her point. "So who's stole your heart away, Olly?" she asked him with a wink.

"Who said someone had?" Oliver answered her question with a question. She chuckled while leaning forward to pull a dandelion out of the ground. "I feel like I'm doing something wrong," he admitted to her. She looked at him as she shook her head gently.

"Put it this way, if your role was reversed with Cathy, would you want her to never move on and keep mourning you?" Janey asked him rhetorically and continued before he could say anything. "She's probably watching you now and screaming outrageously at you to move on." Oliver smirked slightly as he took in what she was saying.

"So how've you been? How's everyone?" he asked her, not feeling entirely comfortable staying on that subject. Janey took the bait with a smile before answering.

"We're good, Mum and Dad have bought a house in France for the winter months. You know how they moan about how cold it gets here," she looked up to the sky trying to think of everything that had happened in Oliver's absence, "Felicity had a baby two months ago," she remembered suddenly.

"Really? What she had?" Oliver asked, surprised that Catherine's older sister had had a child. When he had last seen her, she refused point blank to be in the same room as a child never mind even having one herself.

"She had a girl. She's called Hermione and she's the tiniest thing I've seen," Janey told him excitedly as she continued to think about other news to report to him. She hadn't even realised that Oliver was gawping at her in mid grass-pulling pose. "Oh, and Albert's getting married – what? Do I have something on my face?" Janey asked while wiping at nothing on her cheeks.

"W-why's the baby called Hermione?" Oliver gulped thinking that it wasn't possible; this couldn't just be a coincidence. Janey frowned at him as she stopped rubbing at her face.

"Oh, erm, wait, I know this, I asked the same thing when I heard the name, it's so unusual," Janey kept 'uming' and 'ahing' while she thought about the reason and then it hit her. "I remember now, there was someone in her work who left a while ago called Hermione and she loved the name. Why'd you ask?" Oliver swallowed against his dry throat thinking that it couldn't be the Hermione he knew.

"Does Felicity still work at the Ministry?" he asked not sure whether to be hopeful or scared. Janey nodded vigorously.

"Of course, she loves that job – Oliver, what is it? You've gone pale," Janey told him with worry coming out in her voice.

"I don't think you would believe me if I told you, but all I'll say is that I think Catherine has just told me to move on," he told her softly before standing up.

"She has?" Janey asked confused as she stood up with him. Oliver hugged her tightly.

"It was good to see you again, Janey, tell everyone I said hello and I'll be visiting soon," he instructed her while she tried to say something, anything to him but he was gone before she could blink.

Hermione sighed while trying to concentrate on her book but was losing the battle. It was extremely warm and outside was calling to her. She placed her bookmark into the joint of the page and snapped her book shut before going to get herself a drink. She needed to do something that exerted her energy or she would be like this all day.

She drummed her fingers on the kitchen counter while she thought about what she could do. She looked around at the cupboards thinking that maybe she should spring clean the flat. Or maybe she could go shopping for Jenny's baby now that it was easier for her to get out and about in large crowds. But those tasks wouldn't be enough to rid her of this excess energy.

Then she remembered the list she'd written for Oliver a while ago, the one where they had to do things that they stopped doing when Ron and Catherine had died. Hermione had done herself a copy even though Oliver was going to be choosing which tasks she did and when, but then he wasn't around to help anymore. Maybe there would be something on there she could do.

With some trepidation, Hermione went to her bedroom and took the list out of the jewellery box that held no jewellery. She couldn't remember what she had put on the list but there were definitely things on it that she wasn't sure if she was ready to do. She sat on the bed, to Crookshanks annoyance, and scanned the list for the easiest thing to do, but then doing everything on it was never going to be easy. She spent a few minutes looking at the parchment and found that her eyes kept returning to the very first thing on it; visit it the Weasleys. Only it wasn't the Weasleys she had in mind, not yet anyway; it was her parents.

After Ron had died, Hermione had literally kept everyone close to her away for fear of feeling that immense pain again. Harry and Jenny had managed to sneak past those barriers but it was only because they had the ability of magic to get to her. Yes, it was time she brought her parents back into her life and she found excitement rushing through her. She had missed them as much as Ron and couldn't wait to see them again.

Making sure that the letter was tucked safely back in its original place and that she looked presentable, Hermione Apparated to her parents' house. She appeared in the living room and instantly heard the familiar ticking of the miniature grandfather clock that sat on the fireplace. She glanced at it to find the time showing that it was ten minutes before they were due home. To while away the time she walked through the house and reacquainted herself with all its characteristics.

She was in her old bedroom looking over all the shelves that filled every available space on the wall when she heard the front door open and their voices floated up the stairs to her. Hermione smiled as she listen to them chat about the patients they had seen through the day as they made their way to the kitchen. She slowly made her way down the stairs, through the living room and stopped at the doorway to the kitchen. She stayed silent as her dad stared into the fridge while her mum took two mugs from the cupboard.

"Tell me, why is it – oh dear lord!" Mr Granger exclaimed once he'd turned and saw Hermione. Time seemed to freeze as Hermione smiled shyly at him.

"What is it?" Mrs Granger asked without turning to see, "It's not another spider, is it? Because you really need to sort that silly fear out," she continued while waiting for the kettle to finish boiling.

"No, honey, it's…." he couldn't continue as he raced over to his daughter and pulled her into a tight hug. Mrs Granger sighed before turning round.

"This is…." her voice trailed off once she saw her husband hugging Hermione.

"Mum!" Hermione wailed as she let go of her dad and hurried to her mother. Mrs Granger hugged her numbly, not really believing that she was back. They'd tried everything to get in touch with her, to be there for her while her heart healed, but she had refused them. And now she was here. Hermione started to cry once her mum's arms wrapped even more tightly around her and her dad joined them.

"See, I knew it! I just knew it!" Jenny bragged excitedly in her husband's face while they were sat at the kitchen table with Oliver. "And I didn't even have to do anything from my plan."

"You see what you've done, Oliver? You've made her impossible to live with," Harry told him sulkily while Jenny bounced like a child in her seat, "And will you keep still before the baby gets dizzy." She immediately stopped and leant in close to Oliver.

"So when does Hermione get to know?" she demanded before flicking her wand and conjuring up three glasses of ice cold pumpkin juice. Oliver gratefully took a long gulp of his drink before answering.

"I don't know, I'm really nervous," he told them honestly and then downed the rest of his drink, "I know I wouldn't talk about Catherine and then I met up with Hermione after all these years and she somehow made me talk about her," he took a deep breath before continuing to babble, "But she had also made me realise that, even though I still miss Catherine and would give anything to have her back, that I've also moved on." He was now gasping and Harry timidly handed him his own drink.

"Oliver, you need to breathe before you collapse from lack of oxygen," Harry instructed but sympathised with him. That was exactly how he had felt when he was ready to ask Jenny to marry him. "It was only going to be a matter of time before someone else came along that you were ready to love."

"Harry's right," Jenny conceded, "that was quite deep for you, by the way," she told Harry as a side note before turning back to Oliver while Harry shook his head in disbelief, "But what's making you really nervous about telling Hermione?"

"He's worried that Hermione isn't quite ready to move on," Harry spoke for him before he could even open his mouth.

"What the man said," Oliver simply said before moving on to Jenny's untouched drink. Jenny frowned as she turned to Harry.

"Where's my husband and what have you done to him?" she asked jokingly. Harry mocked outrage at her before looking back at Oliver.

"All I can say to you, Oliver, is that these past few months we've slowly gotten the old Hermione back. I can't tell you if she is or isn't ready to love someone other than Ron. But all you can do is talk to her," Harry advised him with an encouraging smile.

"However, we can safely say that the Hermione we have back is thanks to you being there for her a while ago," Jenny added while nodding wildly. Oliver smiled weakly while scanning the kitchen for something. "Oliver, we don't drink anything stronger than Butterbeer so stop looking."

"You know this would have been easier for you if you hadn't stopped talking to her. She still thinks she did something wrong," Harry scolded gently and then suddenly snapped his fingers at him. "Is that what you were trying to tell me that time? That you were falling for Hermione and it felt like you were betraying Catherine?" he asked excitedly while Jenny had frozen on the spot to stare at him.

"Really, Harry, all these years together and this is the first time I see this side of you?" Jenny questioned him with a suspicious look. Oliver laughed at the couple, he loved how they interacted with each other, it could always put a smile on his face.

"There's never been a situation like this where you've needed to see this side of me," Harry protested earnestly. Jenny pouted at him before turning back to the matter at hand; Oliver.

"Do we get to know why you suddenly stopped talking to Hermione?" she asked quickly hoping that the question would catch him off guard and she'd finally get to know. She wrinkled her nose when he shook his head at her.

"I need to speak with Hermione before I tell you anymore about what happened," Oliver told her while pointing at the three empty glasses. Jenny flicked her wand causing them to fill up again.

"She's missed you," Harry informed him while quickly taking his, now full again, glass back. Jenny pointed a nodded to show Oliver that it was true what he was saying. Oliver blushed while mumbling something to the table. "Don't feel bad, just go and talk to her. She'd love to just see you, never mind your proclamations of love for her – OMPH!" A sharp elbow has just gone into his side.

"Harry, you're meant to be persuading him to tell her, not give him other things to do before he builds up the courage to tell Hermione," Jenny hissed at him. Oliver dropped his head to the table with a loud bang. "For crying out loud, sit up!" she instructed him sharply, he instantly sat up straight, "You've had enough time to mull this over. Now you tell her or I will continue with my Hermione side of the plan."

"Oliver, get out of my house now before you start up this nonsense," Harry told him while pointing at the backdoor. Oliver sighed, stood up, gulped down his drink and Disapparated. "You'll be the death of me, Jen," he sighed before kissing her on the cheek.


	9. Delaying The Inevitable

**Disclaimer: **It's all JK Rowling's, except Jenny she's mine...and any other characters I threw in that aren't in the books

**A/N: **I don't know if it's just a rumour that FFN are stopping us answering the reviews, but have any of you had an email about it? Anyway, back to my thank yous. **breezseadyver - **I've taken your criticism on board and know exactly what you mean about it lagging. But I'm afraid that I've finished the story, this is the second to last chapter, and I've not got the heart for this story anymore to go back and improve it. But I hope you enjoy what's left. **SongOfStars - **You're an absolute star for reviewing nearly every update. Big hugs to you. A big thank you goes to **Peanuts107** for beta-ering this story, you're an angel for putting up with it. Well, read on:-)

* * *

**Delaying the Inevitable**

Hermione was sat on the couch with her mother while her father sat on a chair opposite them and lazily flicked through the paper. He would listen with a smile to the conversation between his wife and daughter finally feeling like that void in his heart had been filled once more with Hermione's appearance back into their lives. He'd just wished that his little girl hadn't been through the pain of losing someone without them but they couldn't turn back the clocks. He glanced over the top of the paper once again to make sure she was still there.

"I promise I'll be here everyday," Hermione reassured him when she caught him looking at her for the fifth time in ten minutes. He winked and disappeared behind his paper once more. She snuggled back against her mum with her legs tucked under her.

"I'm so happy you're here," Mrs Granger told her with a broad smile. Hermione linked her arm round her mother's and held on tight.

"I know it seems like a silly reason for staying away-" she started but her mum stopped her.

"We grieve in different ways and death can bring out all sorts of fears, so you've nothing to apologise for, honey. All we want is for you to be safe and happy," Mrs Granger gripped her hand tightly.

"I just wish you could have met Oliver. He's such a wonderful person and he really helped ease the pain of missing Ron," Hermione told her with a hint of sadness in her voice. Even after all this time of not seeing Oliver she still missed him a lot.

"It does sound rather odd the way he stopped talking to you," Mr Granger spoke from behind his paper before folding it in half and placing it on the coffee table in the centre of the Granger's living room. "You know, when I met your mother, we were just friends at first. But when I realised that I loved her very much I didn't know how to talk to her. So I stayed away."

"Oh yes, I remember. It took me nearly a month to find out what was going on. He just wouldn't stay in the same room as me for more than ten seconds, it was simply ridiculous," Mrs Granger giggled fondly at the memory.

"Which makes me think that this Oliver fellow maybe has stronger feelings for you than just friendship," Mr Granger pointed out while he scratched the day's stubble. Hermione shook her head having been through this with Jenny a thousand times the past couple of months.

"No, honey, your dad could have a point there. You say he lost someone too?" Hermione nodded as she waited for the usual to be said to her. "Maybe it's scared him and he now feels guilty about liking you more than just a friend."

"Mum, dad," she sighed, "I've had all this off Harry and Jenny too-"

"Oh, how are they, by the way?" Mrs Granger interrupted at the remembrance of her daughter's two lovely friends.

"They're wonderful and pregnant," she told her mum hoping that this would end the conversation about Oliver and herself getting together.

"How lovely, when she due?" Mrs Granger asked excitedly, she always loved news of people expecting babies.

"She's just into her eight month but she looks like she's only into her sixth, it's amazing," Hermione told her as she remembered Jenny telling her exactly how far gone she was a few weeks ago. She had honestly thought Jenny was only a couple of weeks pregnant when Harry and she had told Hermione the news but she was actually at least twelve weeks gone.

"You should invite them round for a visit," her father suggested happily before getting up and disappearing into the kitchen.

"Yes, you could invite them for dinner right now. All that magic, they could be here quite quickly, couldn't they?" Mrs Granger asked uncertainly having never quite got a grip on how magic worked.

"I'm not sure how Jenny would feel about travelling at a moment's notice. She gets quite tired near dinner time as well," Hermione explained while her mum nodded in understanding. "I could invite them for dinner tomorrow?"

"Oh yes, that'd be nice. Now back to this young man, Oliver." Hermione rolled her eyes as she remembered that her mum never forgot anything.

Oliver was stood staring at Hermione's front door, his palms sweating profusely as he tried to work up the courage to curl one of them up and knock on the door. He'd been stood staring at the door for almost twenty minutes. He'd just about raised his fist to the door when he looked at his fist then at the hand still by his side; he needed a gift. Yes, he would get her some flowers or maybe a book as a peace offering first.

Resigned to the fact that he could put this off for a little longer, Oliver Disapparated into Diagon Alley. He glanced at his surroundings before heading to Flourish and Blotts having already decided that a book was the best way to go; Hermione didn't seem like a flowers girl.

He took his time over the latest release of books deciding that she surely couldn't have read any of these as they'd only come out within the past week. In the end he picked the two that had been released that very same day and made his way to the pub after paying for them; he was in need of some Dutch courage.

Two Fire whiskeys later Oliver was now ready to see Hermione with his peace offering gift. His heart was hammering as he appeared before her front door once more. He took a glance at his watch to check that it wasn't too late to be visiting; it was a little after eight, not too late in his eyes. He lifted his hand and knocked quickly before he changed his mind.

"One second – Crookshanks! Move from under my feet!" Oliver heard her voice on the other side of the door followed by a thud. "For pity's sake!" Suddenly the windows at the top of the door were flooded with light. A few seconds later, the door opened just enough for Hermione to peer through so that she could see Oliver half smile at her. "Oliver!" she exclaimed as she flung the door wide open and hugged him tightly.

"Air!" he gasped with his free arm hugging her back, the other holding on to the bag with her books in.

"Sorry," she smiled as she let go of him. Before anything more could be said, she had dragged him into her flat and through to the living room. "Your timing couldn't have been better, guess where I've just been!" He watched her do a mini jump on the spot after she'd pushed him on to the couch to sit. She was positively beaming and seemed to have become even more beautiful since he'd last saw her.

"No idea." He shrugged with a smile himself, her excitement was radiating off her. She sat next to him before answering causing him to become very aware of how close she was to him.

"I went to see my parents today. I've missed them so much and I can't believe I hadn't seen them in so long," she told with another gush of excitement. Oliver's eyebrows shot up into his hairline.

"That's fantastic, Hermione. How are they?" he asked with genuine happiness for her and forgetting his nerves at the same time.

"They're the most loving and understanding parents and I can't believe I cut them out like that," she said almost in one breath. He smiled at her, proud of the transformation that had happened in her since he'd been gone. He'd been worried at first that she might have been too dependant on him but it seems she'd been thriving without him. The smiled wavered for a second as he thought about that; what if she had become so independent that she would reject him from her life now?

Hermione stared at him intensely as Oliver seemed to drift into a daydream. She couldn't believe he was here, she could have always gone to see him but it was a step he had to take really. He'd severed their connection so it had been up to him to tie it back together. She saw a range of emotions flowing through his eyes without him being aware that she was watching. She had a sudden urge to hug him again and did. He jumped as he felt her wrap her arms around his neck.

"I'm sorry for whatever I did but please don't stay away again," she pleaded with him with a sob that had been hiding without her awareness of it. Oliver frowned before pushing her away and holding her by the arms. "I need you around." His heart skipped a beat, it was almost as though she'd been reading his thoughts.

"You never did anything wrong and I've been so cruel not to tell you that," he told her with a break in his voice that caused his Scottish accent to become slightly stronger. Confusion was written all over Hermione's face but she didn't push him to answer the questions running through her mind, she just waited for him to be ready to tell her everything. He gave her a wobbly smile before speaking, "It seems I've lost my bottle to tell you everything, so how about we just catch up for now and I'll work up to it again."

"Okay," she laughed, still confused by what he was trying to tell her, "Why don't you stay the night?" He nodded vigorously in acceptance of the offer. She grinned before hugging him tight once more and then disappeared into the kitchen.

Oliver woke up the next morning a little stiff after having spent the night on Hermione's couch. He heard a dignified and irritated 'meow' as he rolled over and Crookshanks was flung to the floor. He tried to apologise but the animal had disappeared into the hallway with a flick of his fluffy tail.

He laughed when he could hear Hermione's voice through the wall scolding her pet, "I have an alarm clock, I don't need you to do it!"

"Morning!" he called through the wall to her before getting up to fold the blanket up. He sighed as grabbed his wand to send the blanket to its rightful place in the flat. 'Would he be able to tell her today?' was the question that kept flowing through his mind. He'd just have to see how the day flowed but first he had Quidditch practice to go to for a couple of hours.

"Morning," Hermione mumbled to him while rubbing her eyes, "I just can't keep my eyes open." She stumbled across to the couch and collapsed onto it. "I'm not sleepy enough to go back to sleep though." He smiled at her as he picked up his shirt from Crookshanks chair and put it on.

"Do you want me to make you breakfast before I go?" he offered as he picked his jeans up off the same chair and quickly pulled them on. He was just glad that she couldn't quite see enough for her to have noticed that he'd only been in his boxers when she'd walked in.

"It's okay." She shook her head. "You get off and come back here afterwards," she instructed through a stifled yawn while trying to force her eyes to stay open. He laughed at her behaviour before kissing her on the top of her head and left. Hermione continued to make her eyes stay open but they were too dry so she went into the bathroom to splash cold water on her face.

She had barely finished patting her face dry with a towel and was turning to leave the bathroom when she walked into something solid. She shrieked and jumped back to find Oliver grinning, "Don't do _that _to me!" she shrieked while throwing a towel at her.

"I just wanted to let you know that I missed you a lot and it's really good to see you again," he told her through a nervous smile. She moved forward and pulled him to a tight hug.

"Now go before you're late," she instructed and waited for him to Disapparate before going back to the living room.

Harry was nearly ready for practice when Oliver walked in with a nervous look upon his face. It wasn't happy or sad, just nervous, so it was quite clear to him that Oliver hadn't told Hermione yet.

"If you don't tell her then Jenny's going to and you know how pushy she can get," Harry instructed as Oliver walked past him to his locker. Oliver nodded absent-mindedly while going over ways to tell Hermione in his head. Why was this harder than when he told Catherine? Suddenly he became aware of Harry's presence behind him.

"I've been to see her, if that helps," he told him while sitting on the bench and pulling his shoes off.

"Really? I bet she was really pleased to see you," Harry spoke happily while sitting next to him on the bench. Oliver nodded to him, his mind drifting off again to his rehearsed lines. "Why haven't you told her yet?"

"I'm extremely nervous and I can't shake it off long enough to tell her. Besides, she had just been to see her parents and was so excited that I had to let her tell me all about it first." He stood up and took his shirt off.

"Wait, she's been to see her mum and dad? When did that happen?" Harry asked in confusion. Jenny and he had been trying to get her to visit her parents for months now but couldn't get her to go.

"She went yesterday. She had just got home when I went to visit her," he told Harry as he roughly pulled on his Quidditch shirt on. Suddenly he paused and turned to Harry. "I was so close to telling her but then I lost the nerve." He turned back to his locker and pulled out his Quidditch pants. "By the way, I've been told to tell you that Hermione's parents would like you and Jenny to visit them tonight for dinner. Apparently I'll be there too so that her mum can coo over me."

"That'd be nice. I just can't believe she's been to see her parents, I honestly thought it would never happen," Harry told him honestly before going over to the broom cupboard and pulling out his broom.

"What if she thinks I'm really insensitive and kicks me out of her home when I tell her?" Oliver asked Harry, completely ignoring what Harry had just said to him.

"I'm not going through this with you. I can't tell you how Hermione will react, you're just going to have to tell her and find out for yourself." Harry threw Oliver's broom at him as he shut the door.

"Isn't there some sort of potion I can take to get rid of these nerves?" Oliver pleaded more than asked. Harry smiled sympathetically while patting Oliver on the shoulder.

"If there was, don't you think we would use it before each match?" Oliver seemed to visibly shrink in height as nerves were getting the better of him. "Try and tell her before we go to her parents otherwise Jenny will be doing it for you over dinner."


	10. Expression of Love

**Disclaimer: **Yer know, what's to say that I'm really not Ms Rowling attempting different stories with me own characters? huh? But you're right, I'm just a nobody from the North of England.

**A/N: **Big big thanks to **SeverusSnape'sLove **and **articuno **for reviewing, it really means a lot to me. Now everyone, this is the last chapter for this story, it's the end and I can hear the halleluja chrous now from you all ;-). But could I ask the biggest favour from you all, could whoever's been reading this story review to say they were reading it and whether it was a good or bad story in their opinion. I just want to know how many, if any, were reading. I'd really appreciate. Hope you enjoy this last chapter.

* * *

**Expression of Love**

Oliver took his time showering and changing back into his clothes after Quidditch practice and so did Harry, but for different reasons than Oliver. He was there to make sure that he went back to Hermione's to tell her everything. It was more for his sake than his own to make him tell her now as he knew what Jenny could be like if people delayed proclaiming their love.

Finally he was ready along with Harry and they both looked at each other with that knowing look.

"I tell you what, I'll come with you, but I'll hide away in the kitchen," Harry offered his support. Oliver shook his head with a smile.

"No it's alright, but thanks anyway," he told him as he pulled his wand out of his locker, "If she doesn't feel the same, do you think she'll stay friends with me?"

"I reckon she will, you weren't there when she was trying to work out what she'd done wrong," Harry pointed out cheekily knowing that this wouldn't make Oliver feel any better. Oliver took in a deep breath and puffed it out quickly.

"Right. I'm going. Wish me luck," he told Harry but had Disapparate before Harry had barely gotten 'good' out of his mouth. He Apparated into Hermione's kitchen where he found her at the table picking at her lunch. She jumped and dropped her fork on the floor when she heard the familiar 'crack' reverberated through the kitchen that came with Oliver when he Apparated in.

"Have you got a death wish for me today?" Hermione asked rhetorically with a smirk. Oliver laughed nervously as he bent down to pick the fork up for her. "Do you want my pasta, I'm not hungry?" He shook his head at her offering before sitting down at the table with her. She looked at him thoughtfully before standing up to throw away the contents of her bowl. As she sat back down she rubbed his arm which sent shivers up his spine. "Are you okay? You're looking pale."

"I'm fine," he told her with his voice coming out a little higher than he intended, "Are you okay? Or are you not a big eater anyway?" He pointed to the bin where Hermione's discard pasta was sitting.

"I'm not a big eater when I have a lot going on in my mind," she told him honestly. He really looked at her face since he'd arrived and noticed that she had a thin layer of sweat across her forehead.

"What's the matter?" he asked, his mind racing with all sorts of bad scenarios. The worst one that kept staying at the front was that she had a terminal illness.

"It's just…I…you know when…" she took a breath while looking down at her hands that were constantly twisting round each other on the table, "I…you…I really, really missed you," Hermione told him with a great whoosh of air. Oliver took her hands in to his before she could twist them any more. He'd forgotten his own nerves over worry for what was going on with Hermione.

"Please tell me nothing serious has happened," he pleaded with her, tears stinging in his eyes. She frowned as she tried to work out what he meant but it didn't take long to register. There he was panicking that she was dying and all that really was the matter was that she wanted to tell him she loved him. Very much.

"Oh, Oliver," she cried as she manoeuvred her chair round the table so that she was right next to him, "it's not what you're thinking." She wrapped her arms around his neck and he gratefully accepted the hug by placing his arms tightly around her waist.

"Promise me," he whispered in to her ear.

"I promise," she told him before pulling away, "But there is something serious I need to tell you about." The worry written across Oliver's face increased tenfold. She sighed lightly as she realised that it was now or never. "Oliver...I…loveyovermuch!" The last part of her sentence came out as one word but he still got the gist of what Hermione had said to him. It had caused him to slip off his chair and knock his chin on the table.

"Ow," he mumbled while rubbing his chin. Hermione couldn't help herself when she laughed at him nervously. "Don't laugh, I think I've broke my jaw!" She rolled her eyes, grateful that what she had just said was forgotten about for now. She knelt down to him and gave him her hands to help him up. Instead of taking her hands, Oliver stared at them. Slowly his gaze wandered up her arms and eventually to her eyes. Her heart jumped once his eyes met hers.

"I understand if you don't feel the same about me," she whispered her words in hopes that he didn't hear them. Her gaze now lowered to her hands that were still outstretched to help Oliver. She dropped them while she could still feel his eyes on her. "Please don't let me lose you as a friend, I couldn't bare that." Her voice was pleading as she kept her eyes on the floor.

Suddenly a 'pop' echoed through the silent kitchen and Harry was stood by the sink. He literally hopped alternately on to each foot, sweat racing down the sides of his face and a look of excitement mixed in with fear on his face.

"Jenny's waters have broken," he exclaimed hysterically. Hermione was up and on her feet in the blink of an eye, "She wants you there, Hermione!" Then he glanced down and spotted Oliver. "You can come too!" On that last note, he Disapparated with another 'pop'.

Hermione turned to face Oliver, an awkwardness passing over them. The hovered between wondering if they should continue their conversation before they go or do they just go and ignore the matter at hand for now?

"We best go before Harry has a breakdown," Oliver suggested as he shakily stood up, his chin still throbbing but no cut visible. Hermione nodded dejected feeling like that was it; she had officially ruined her friendship with Oliver. She walked past Oliver to go into the living room for her wand when he grabbed her by the arm, "I-"

"Don't, please," she begged without looking at him. She gently pulled her arm away and continued into the living room. She heard a 'crack' to signal that he'd gone; she spent a couple of minutes composing herself, keeping her tears at bay. When she felt ready, she picked her wand up off the coffee table and Disapparated.

"Where have you been, you irresponsible woman! I was at your house nearly an hour ago!" Harry wailed hysterically while shaking her by the arms.

"Har-ry, I on-ly to-ok a coup-le of min-ut-es," she managed to get out to him between the shakes. Finally she pushed him off her and froze him with her speciality of 'Petrificus Totalus'. "I know you have all these feelings running wild right now, BUT GET A GRIP!" Harry blinked at her as she leant over him getting her point across. She reversed the spell taking a step back from him.

"Sorry," he mumbled to her. He stood up to lead the way from the living room to the bedroom he shared with Jenny.

"Where's Oliver?" Hermione asked just before they reached the bedroom where she could hear Jenny frantically walking round.

"In the kitchen." He turned back to Hermione, grabbed her arm and pushed her into the bedroom. "She's threatened to kill me twice, please calm her down," he begged before disappearing back down the stairs.

Hermione stepped further into the room to find Jenny walking up and down by the window. She paused for a moment when she saw Hermione, smiled and then continued.

"When did your waters break?" she asked walking over to Jenny to make her stay still. She could see worry in her eyes and so she pulled her into a tight hug.

"It happened about half an hour ago, maybe a bit longer," she told Hermione holding on tightly. She was terrified at the thought of pain now that labour was in its early stages. She'd yet to have a contraction and she was dreading it. Hermione pulled away and lead her over to the bed and sat her down. "I'm scared, Hermione."

"It'll be fine, I promise," she reassured Jenny while kneeling down in front of her. Then a strong pain started to spread across her abdomen causing Jenny to double over. Her first contraction had just hit her and it was worst than she thought it would be.

"Get…Harry!" she huffed while trying to breathe through the pain. Hermione nodded and stood up. She'd just reached the door when Jenny called to her again, "Don't leave me!" Hermione looked between her and the space outside the bedroom desperately trying to work out what to do for her.

"HARRY!" she yelled, "COME HERE!" She raced back to Jenny, making her take her hands while the last of the contraction rolled through her. Harry got to the room with Oliver in tow as Jenny flopped sideways on the bed in relief that the contraction was over. "You should go to the hospital now, they'll have something to ease the pain," Hermione suggested. Harry climbed onto the bed with his wife; she held her arms out for him and held on tightly once he was in them. Hermione glanced at the doorway to find Oliver sheepishly watching, not sure whether to stay or go.

"I'm having the baby here," Jenny finally spoke once she'd got her breath back. Hermione turned back to her to find her smiling happily at Harry. "Harry's parents lived in this house. Harry spent his first year in this house. I want their grandchild to be born in it," she explained to Hermione while keeping her eyes on Harry. Hermione smiled at the thoughtfulness and stood up.

"I'll go and get someone to come here then," Hermione told them before disappearing out of the bedroom. She moved past Oliver without looking at him or acknowledging him. It wasn't that she was ignoring him on purpose; she just needed to not think about what she had told him and his reaction.

Oliver had gone with Hermione to the hospital in silence, he simply watched her as she went about her business to find Jenny's assigned Medi-witch. They had to wait a few minutes as she was with another couple who'd had their baby that morning. During that time, they sat in the foyer of St. Mungo's in an awkward silence, no one re-approaching the subject. Finally a plump looking woman with curly, blonde hair came out to greet them happily.

"I hear Jenny Potter has gone into early labour," she spoke in a voice that was so husky it was like she had a sore throat. Hermione had to refrain herself from asking if she'd had a cold and concentrate on telling her about Jenny. A few more minutes later and they were all back at Harry and Jenny's house.

Hermione and Oliver stayed downstairs while the Medi-witch went about her business with the Potters. It would have been the perfect time to broach their early conversation but neither one of them did. Oliver desperately wanted to let her know everything was okay, he wanted her too; needed her. But his nerves were failing him terribly, even with the knowledge that she loved him too.

Hermione refused to bring it up again because she believed he'd already given her his answer with his silence. She pottered around the kitchen trying to keep her mind off of it while she listened to clock ticking on the kitchen windowsill, which would have Jenny's wails of pain join it from time to time.

After a couple of hours had passed, they had both silently begun to play Wizard chess with the set that Harry liked to keep on display in the living room. Still neither one spoke while the gaps between Jenny's cries of pain or shouts of ill wishes at Harry were getting shorter.

Once Oliver had realised, forty minutes into the game, that he had lost the game, he glanced up at Hermione. She was staring intensely at the board while her queen flirted with his last knight. Then he saw it, a tear in the corner that was threatening to spill over. 'Well done, Oliver, you're hurting her and not doing anything about it!' he mentally berated himself. 'It's now or never you big wimp! You don't do it and you'll lose her!' a tiny voice screamed in his head.

He was nervously biting his nails while trying to get his wording right in his mind but it wasn't happening. He stood up abruptly causing Hermione to slightly jump and the tear finally slid down. She kept her head down but he still caught her hastily wiping it away. Why couldn't he just tell her? He knew she was going to return his feelings so what was the matter with him? He sat back down as quickly as he had stood.

Then ever so slowly, he slid the chess set away from the corner of the kitchen table so that it was in the centre. Hermione was still staring at the place it had been, Oliver kept his gaze on her face while he pulled his chair round the corner of the table and turned her chair to face him. She looked up in surprise, no more tears ready to fall but they were there, just well hidden.

It didn't take any words to finally tell Hermione what she had wanted to hear from him, he instead cupped her face with his hands and leant forward to kiss her. At first she was too shocked to respond but then she slowly melted into the tender kiss herself. Her heart was racing as she felt her body relax into his arms.

"I'M A DAD!" a shout came flooding down to them from the bedroom. Hermione and Oliver jumped apart and raced upstairs. Hermione gingerly stepped into the bedroom to see if it was okay to come in. Jenny lay sweating and exhausted on the bed with a blanket loosely thrown over her while Harry showered her with kisses. The Medi-witch was stood at a Moses basket stand with blankets all over it that hadn't been there before. And there in the middle of the blankets a tiny face could be seen poking through while the Medi-witch wiped the little person clean.

"Come in," Jenny instructed weakly to Hermione with a smile. Harry nodded excited as he waved at her. Hermione stepped in and walked over to where the baby was, she felt an overwhelming happiness take over her when the baby started to cry as its arms broke free from the blankets. "Oliver, come in, don't stay there," Jenny instructed the man hovering in the doorway. He smiled shyly before walking over to stand with Hermione.

Harry left Jenny to join them, the Medi-witch finally done with her cleaning and check-ups, handed the bundle to him.

"I'd like you both to meet Lily Hermione Potter," Harry proudly told them. Hermione gasped as she clung onto Oliver with tears in her eyes. "She would have had Ron but then I think she might get bullied with a boy's name." Hermione was completely sobbing as he handed her Lily.

"She's beautiful," Hermione wailed while walking over to Jenny and handing Lily to her, "She's got your eyes, Harry." Jenny looked down at her daughter and agreed with Hermione.

"Well done, Harry," Oliver praised him with a big bear hug, a smile plastered over his face too. Harry grinned goofily at him when they pulled apart.

"I'm a daddy," he told them in a tone that said he didn't quite believe it yet.

The sun was just setting when Jenny finally fell asleep after giving Lily her first feed. Everyone tip-toed out of the room while the Medi-witch stayed to do her final bits and bobs on the baby before going. Hermione hugged Harry properly once they were in the kitchen. Her best friend who she'd known since she was eleven was a father, it made her want children herself for the first time since in a long time.

"Now you have to promise me, Hermione, that you'll make sure she does well in school. Teach her everything you know, I want the best for my daughter," Harry instructed sternly with a paternal instinct that had already taken over. Hermione nodded with a grin that had been there since she'd heard the baby's name. "And you," he pointed at Oliver sitting at the table with a grin to match Hermione's, "You will teach her everything about Quidditch." Oliver saluted him as his answer.

"I'm so happy for you, Harry. I feel like I've just had a baby myself I'm that happy," she told him excitedly. "What does it feel like to have this whole little person relying on you?"

"It's scary and exciting all at the same time; it's just…..I can't put what I'm feeling into words…..you'll just know when you become a mum," he told her as he sat down at the table with Oliver. She joined him and sat opposite Oliver.

"Maybe she will soon enough," Oliver spoke quietly, so quietly that neither Hermione nor Harry was sure he'd spoke. Harry frowned as he looked at him.

"Did I miss something while I was watching Lily come into the world?" Harry quizzed excitedly, his gaze jumping between Oliver and Hermione. Hermione blushed while Oliver watched her with nothing but love in his eyes for her. "You finally told her!" Oliver nodded.

"Well, she actually told me first," he added as an afterthought. Harry's eyebrows shot up into his hairline.

"You never said, Hermione," Harry's voice was now bordering a squeak, all the events of the day catching up with him.

"Well, with Oliver not talking to me, I thought I'd done something wrong, so I didn't want to get my hopes up," she told Harry honestly while keeping her gaze on Oliver.

"It's about time is all I can say," Harry praised with a pat on the back to Oliver. "It's nice to see you both moving on, you know?" Both Hermione and Oliver nodded thoughtfully. A silence passed over them while they thought about everything that had happened; the loss of loved ones, the gaining of someone new to love and the birth of a beautiful baby.

Harry was smiling to himself staring up at the ceiling, a small bubble of excitement was building up inside of him just thinking about what he would do with his little girl as she grew up. A movement from Oliver pulled him back to reality causing him to look at him and find him walking over to Hermione. Harry nearly swallowed his tongue when he watched Oliver slowly sink down onto one knee. Hermione had actually screamed.

"Marry me?" he simply said to her with a nervous smile that kept wavering on his lips. Hermione was speechless, wasn't it too soon? He could sense her hesitation and immediately stepped in with his fight. "Life really is short and precious to waste away, as we've both learnt these past few years. So please, lets not waste anymore time." She opened her both and then closed it, she had been completely floored by this unexpected turn of events. Harry was leaning intensely on the table while staring at Hermione, waiting for her answer.

"Yes," she finally told him throwing out all reasonable thoughts. He was right; losing Ron had shown how easily a life could be over. It was time she lived it more fully. Harry was up and jumping around like a lunatic while Oliver calmly moved forward and kissed her. Finally two hearts that had been very much shattered were well and truly healed.


End file.
